Q3 sales reach 874.4 billion won, up 34% on-year

NCM shipments set for record high this year

LFP to add 30,000 tons of annual supply from 2028

An aerial view of the L&F Plus factory located in the Daegu National Industrial Complex. [L&F]
An aerial view of the L&F Plus factory located in the Daegu National Industrial Complex. [L&F]

L&F reported sales of 874.4 billion won ($652 million) and an operating loss of 26.5 billion won in the third quarter, the company said Thursday. Sales rose 34 percent from a year earlier, but the company swung to an operating loss.

L&F attributed the loss to a sharp drop in the won-dollar exchange rate and key raw material prices during the quarter. Its cumulative operating profit for the first three quarters reached approximately 111.6 billion won, however, and the company said confidence in a full-year profit is growing.

L&F forecast that shipments of its nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) cathode materials would rise about 40 percent from a year earlier this year, setting a record high. The company said NCM business profitability remains solid when external factors are excluded.

The company expects NCM shipments to grow by double digits next year as well, marking a second consecutive annual record. It projected that 46-pi products would account for about 40 percent of total NCM shipments as supply volumes from both existing and new 46-pi projects increase.

L&F also forecast that shipments of high-nickel products would surpass a quarterly record in the fourth quarter this year, driven by exclusive supply of its Ultra high-nickel products and expanded sales of 46-pi products to new customers in North America.

In its lithium iron phosphate (LFP) business, L&F signed long-term supply agreements this year with four customers — three major domestic battery cell makers and one overseas customer. The deals secured a supply volume of approximately 100 gigawatt-hours on an ESS battery basis.

Building on those contracts, the company forecast LFP shipments of about 50,000 tons next year and more than 60,000 tons in 2028. The new agreements also secured more than 30,000 additional tons of annual supply capacity starting in 2028. L&F said demand for non-Chinese materials in the North American ESS market is growing and that it is continuing supply discussions with global customers, adding that LFP is expected to begin contributing meaningfully to sales and profit from next year.

Ryu Seung-heon, L&F's chief financial officer, described 2026 as "a meaningful year in which, despite uncertainty in the global electric vehicle market, we broke our all-time shipment record on the strength of our differentiated high-nickel technology, and secured a new growth foundation in the LFP business through long-term supply agreements with the three major domestic battery cell makers."

"In 2027, the expansion of supply from existing and new 46-pi projects and the ramp-up of LFP volumes for North American ESS will drive parallel growth in both the NCM and LFP businesses, translating into real sales growth and improved profitability — making it a year of new momentum," Ryu added.


eyre@heraldcorp.com