Lotte Fine Chemical's Q2 operating profit surges 611.5% on specialty business strength

Lotte Fine Chemical posted second-quarter operating profit of 61.9 billion won ($42.7 million), a 611.5 percent increase from the same period a year earlier, the company said Thursday. Sales for the quarter rose 38.1 percent to 586.3 billion won.

The earnings improvement was driven primarily by stronger sales in the company's specialty businesses, including food- and pharmaceutical-grade cellulose and the semiconductor material TMAC.

Sales of food- and pharmaceutical-grade cellulose — used in products such as plant-based pharmaceutical capsules — gained momentum from the second quarter as output from an expanded factory began reaching the market in full. TMAC, a semiconductor material, also saw higher sales volumes in the quarter, buoyed by growing demand from the semiconductor industry.

An ammonia marine-fuel supply, or bunkering, business aimed at strengthening the company's green energy portfolio also contributed to the earnings improvement. In April, Lotte Fine Chemical became the world's first company to commercially supply green ammonia as ship fuel, and plans to deliver about 3,000 tons of ammonia as marine fuel to ammonia-powered vessels this year. Building on its position as operator of Asia's largest ammonia terminal infrastructure, the company plans to expand its clean ammonia business, including marine fuel supply.

"We will continue to strengthen our competitiveness in the eco-friendly business by expanding the ammonia marine fuel business," said Jeong Seung-won, chief executive of Lotte Fine Chemical.

Meanwhile, Lotte Fine Chemical said Thursday it had approved an investment of 13 billion won to scale up TMAC production capacity in response to growing semiconductor material demand. The company, currently the world's top TMAC producer, plans to expand its annual production capacity from 55,000 tons to 64,000 tons by 2028.