Q2 earnings of Lotte Chemical Corp. and LG Chem Ltd plunge

07-Aug-19

Lotte Chemical has posted 4.03 trillion won (US$3.33 bln) in consolidated sales, 346.10 billion won (US$185.18 mln) in operating profit and 271.30 billion won (US$223.55 mln) in net profit in the second quarter. Its sales fell 6.8% from last year, operating profits plunged 50.6% and net profit dipped 53.1%.
LG Chem recorded sales of 7.18 trillion won (US$5.87 bln), operating profits of 267.50 bln won (US$220.49 mln) and net profits of 83.80 bln won (US$69.07 mln) in the same quarter. Its sales grew 1.8% compared to last year but its operating profits and net profits dropped 62% and 83%, respectively.

As the price of ethylene plunges to 10-year lows in South Korea, the second quarter earnings of Lotte Chemical Corp. and LG Chem Ltd., have been impacted, as reported by businesskorea.co.kr. The price of ethylene was US$761 (924,000 won) per ton last month, nearly halved from US$1,380 (1.67 million won) a year earlier, reports businesskorea.kr. The price of naphtha has been on the rise, while the prices of petrochemical products, such as ethylene and paraxylene (PX), have decreased, leading to a lower cracker margin.