Ecopro BM Maintains Profitability in Q2... AI Data Centers Drive Performance

Sales of 576.7 Billion Won and Operating Profit of 18 Billion Won
Targeting European OEMs with Hungarian Plant in the Second Half

Ecopro BM maintained its profitability in the second quarter of this year. Although sales decreased slightly due to a slowdown in the electric vehicle (EV) market, the company was able to defend its profitability as demand increased for non-EV sectors, such as artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and power tools.

On July 31, Ecopro BM announced that its consolidated sales for the second quarter of this year reached 576.7 billion won, with an operating profit of 18 billion won. Due to decreased EV shipments in Europe and North America, both sales and operating profit declined slightly compared to the previous quarter, but the company remained profitable.

The improvement in performance was supported by new demand arising from the expansion of AI data centers. Shipments of cathode materials for power applications such as power tools and electric bicycles increased by 28% compared to the previous quarter, driven by the expansion of semiconductor production facilities related to AI and rising e-bike replacement demand in Southeast Asia.

From the second half of the year, Ecopro BM plans to respond to the local demand of European automotive OEMs through its Hungarian plant, which has started full-scale mass production. The company aims to establish a supply system tailored to stricter regulations within Europe while also expanding its supply of cathode materials for non-EV applications in line with the growing AI data center and semiconductor markets.

In the mid-to-long term, Ecopro BM seeks to enhance its cost competitiveness by investing in the Indonesia BNSI nickel smelter. The strategy focuses on increasing the in-house production rate of nickel intermediates to better respond to fluctuations in raw material prices and thereby improve pricing and order competitiveness for ternary cathode materials.

The company expects that once the smelter begins full-scale operations in the second quarter of 2027, profits generated from nickel production will be reflected, contributing to improved operating results and profitability.

Jangwoo Kim, Chief Executive of Ecopro BM, stated, "Although the EV market is experiencing a temporary slowdown in demand and external uncertainties persist, we have maintained profitability by expanding new demand in areas such as AI data centers and improving our business structure with a focus on profitability. Through investments in the Indonesia BNSI smelter and mass production at the Hungarian plant, we aim to secure competitiveness that is resilient to market volatility."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.