An aerial view of OCI's Gwangyang factory. [OCI]
An aerial view of OCI's Gwangyang factory. [OCI]

OCI posted an operating profit of 43.3 billion won ($29.3 million) on a consolidated basis in the second quarter, swinging to a profit from a loss of 2.3 billion won in the same period last year, the company announced Wednesday. Sales for the same period rose slightly to 535 billion won.

OCI attributed the earnings improvement to higher sales volumes and prices for petrochemical products driven by growing customer demand, as well as improved performance in its semiconductor materials business.

The Basic Chemical segment, which includes semiconductor materials, recorded sales of 209.5 billion won and an operating profit of 18.1 billion won in the second quarter. Sales volumes for some products increased, supported by a base effect from scheduled maintenance and a recovery in product demand.

The Carbon Chemical segment posted sales of 331.5 billion won and an operating profit of 31 billion won. Strong product spreads, driven by firm oil prices, underpinned solid earnings.

OCI plans to keep expanding investment in new semiconductor materials businesses in response to the government's semiconductor industry development policy. The company is also entering the wafer reclamation business for semiconductor packaging as part of its push to secure future growth drivers. As part of that effort, OCI plans to acquire OCI Specialty and make active use of its existing production infrastructure.

The business will collect used wafers from semiconductor packaging customers, put them through a cleaning and reclamation process, and resupply them to those customers. The related production facility is scheduled to be completed in the first half of next year. After commercial sales begin, the company plans to consider additional capacity expansion based on market demand.

OCI plans to steadily broaden its semiconductor-related business portfolio, starting with the wafer reclamation venture. Vice Chairman Kim Yu-shin said the company would "continue to expand investment in high-value-added advanced materials such as wafer reclamation for semiconductor packaging and conductive carbon black, upgrade our business portfolio, and further strengthen our growth foundation in step with the expansion of the AI and semiconductor industries."


yeongdai@heraldcorp.com