SEOUL — SK IE Technology Co. (SKIET), the prominent lithium-ion battery separator producer in South Korea, reported an increased net loss for the third quarter due to reduced demand from electric vehicle manufacturers, according to a company regulatory filing on Friday.
The firm disclosed that for the quarter ending September 30, its net loss escalated to 30.69 billion won (approximately US$23 million), up from last year's 24.95 billion won loss during the same timeframe. A company representative attributed the decline to a slowdown in orders from EV businesses coupled with the financial pressures from establishing new separator production facilities in Poland.
SKIET, which recently inaugurated one out of four planned separator plants in Poland and is currently constructing the second, operates two sites in South Korea, one in China, and the recently completed Polish facility.
Despite the net loss, SKIET reported a transition to an operating profit of 7.88 billion won for the third quarter, a substantial improvement from the 22 billion won operating loss recorded a year earlier. The company also saw a 35 percent increase in sales to 182.24 billion won from 135.25 billion won.
Since its division from SK Innovation Co. in April 2019, SKIET has observed a 61.2 percent ownership by SK Innovation. Cumulative financials from January to September show the company rebounding to a net profit of 8.59 billion won, a significant turnaround from a net loss of 39.21 billion won in the comparable period last year. Operational profit for the first nine months also improved to 5.14 billion won, with sales climbing 17 percent to 477.07 billion won.