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SK Innovation profit plunges 83 percent, hit by skyrocketing gas prices

Published: 06 Feb. 2025, 16:32

CHO YONG-JUN
[email protected]

SK Innovation

SK Innovation's profit plunged as it grappled with the rising prices of raw materials like petroleum.

Operating profit declined 83 percent to 315.4 billion won ($218 million), the energy and chemical company said Thursday. Sales fell 3.3 percent to 74.7 trillion won.

The company reported a net loss of 2.4 trillion won following a net profit of 554.89 billion won a year earlier.

The results followed the launch of the merged entity of SK Innovation and its renewable energy affiliate SK E&S, which became the largest private energy company in the Asia-Pacific region. The integrated company has combined assets of 105 trillion won and boasts 88 trillion won in sales. Operating profit for the fourth quarter doubled from the same period of 2023.

Quarterly sales, however, fell 0.6 percent to 19.4 trillion won from 19.5 trillion won a year ago. In the three months ended in December, the company's net loss deepened to 1.07 trillion won from 2.3 billion won a year ago.

The company's battery subsidiary, SK On, reported 6.27 trillion won in yearly revenue and 1.13 billion in operating loss.

SK On reported 1.60 trillion won in revenue in the fourth quarter, helped by the increase in battery sales, but logged a 359.4 billion won operating loss in the fourth quarter.

“High interest on loans and increased spending on raw materials cut into the quarterly bottom line,” a company spokesperson said over the phone.

“Due to the shift in international affairs, an uncertain business environment on the energy side, including petroleum and gas, is expected,” SK Innovation Chief Financial Officer Seo Geon-gi said. “But we aim to accelerate obtaining a complete value chain in the energy business, followed by the acquisition of SK E&S and continue to synergize in the field.”

BY CHO YONG-JUN, YONHAP [[email protected]]