Three domestic battery makers take bold steps … LG’Split ‘SK’ Performance upgrade ‘Samsung’Hyundai Motor’



[ad_1]

LG Chem confirms physical division of battery division at shareholders’ meeting
SK Innovation, sales growth of 253% YoY, operating profit remains in the red
Samsung SDI participates in war to win Ioniq 7 battery orders from Hyundai Motor Company

The showroom of three national battery companies participating in 'InterBattery 2020', this year's largest secondary battery exhibition.  (Photo Editing / Reporter Kang Min)
The showroom of three national battery companies participating in ‘InterBattery 2020’, this year’s largest secondary battery exhibition. (Photo Editing / Reporter Kang Min)
[시사포커스 / 강민 기자] Industry interest is drawing attention, as the three national battery companies are taking bold steps in late October. LG Chem confirmed the divestiture of the battery business, SK Innovation’s battery sales increased 43.7% from the previous quarter and Samsung SDI is known to be preparing to win the third E-GMP order for Hyundai Motor Company .

■ LG Chem’s physical division decision “Aims to become a world leader by achieving a large breakthrough in the battery sector by expanding investment” … Share price fell 4% in 1 hour

On the 30th, LG Chem held a general shareholders meeting in the LG Twin Tower Grand Auditorium in Yeouido-dong, Seoul, approved the original plan for the physical division of the battery business and plans to launch the ‘LG Energy Solution (name provisional) ‘on December 1. LG Energy Solutions, a wholly owned subsidiary of LG Chem, will be established as a company with a capital of 100 billion won. LG Chem’s energy division sales totaled 6.7 trillion won last year.

On this day, 77.5% of the shareholders’ contrite vote was attended and the approval rate reached 82.3%. To approve the shareholders’ draft on this day, more than a third of the total shares and more than two-thirds of the participating shareholders have met the requirements.

LG Chem’s second-largest shareholder (10.20% stake), the previous shareholders’ meeting, expressed objection to the National Pension Service for “property division will damage shareholder value,” and individual investors they felt tense when it emerged that they would express their dissatisfaction as no new shares were issued during the physical split. There was this. After opening the lid, it was found that it received overwhelming support from foreigners and institutional investors.

Hak-cheol Shin, Vice President of LG Chem, greets shareholders who attended in connection with the physical division of the battery business at the shareholders' meeting on the 30th. ⒸLG Chemical
Hak-cheol Shin, Vice President of LG Chem, greets the shareholders who attended in relation to the physical division of the battery business at the general shareholders meeting on the 30th. ⒸLG Chemical

Hak-cheol Shin, Vice President of LG Chem, said that day: “We decided to make a spin-off to establish a management system optimized for the characteristics of the battery business in a rapidly changing market situation and to further solidify our position of super disparity in the market. ” It will jump forward. ”

Chai Chai-Seok, Vice President of LG Chem (CFO) “In the battery business sector, net debt has risen to 8 trillion won due to rapidly increasing investment in facilities to expand production capacity, and the ratio debt-equity has exceeded 100%. “We were facing an investment imbalance between business divisions due to limited resources,” he said. “With this division, the division to widen the gap with economic enterprises by expanding timely investment Through the use of various financing measures, it establishes a solid financial structure that has grown due to the current investment expansion. “We will carry out a sustainable growth strategy.”

Meanwhile, the share price fell slightly on the 30th due to the problem of the physical division of LG Chem’s battery division. The previous day’s share price (651,000 won) fell more than 4% in an hour. after the split decision and, at 1 pm, the drop was close to 5% compared to the previous day.

■ The production capacity of SK Innovation’s batteries and separators division improved, improving performance … Battery sales increased 253% compared to last year

In the third quarter of this year, SK Innovation recorded 4806 billion won in sales in the battery business, an increase of 43.7% from 3.382 billion won in the previous quarter, a 2.5-fold increase in compared to the same period last year (189.9 billion won) and an operating loss of 98.9 billion won. An improvement of 14.9 billion won from the previous quarter.

This quarter’s earnings improvement appears to have increased significantly as sales volume increased due to the complete operation of new overseas plants in Changzhou, China and Komarom, Hungary. In particular, the second plant in China, which is being built in Yancheng, is expected to improve significantly when mass production begins in the first quarter of next year.

Electric vehicle battery factory under construction by SK Innovation in Commerce City, Jackson County, Georgia.  SK Innovation
Electric vehicle battery factory under construction by SK Innovation in Commerce City, Jackson County, Georgia. SK Innovation

SK Innovation is building factories in China, the United States and Hungary to have a production capacity of 100GWh (550GWh as of October) by 2025, and is preparing to win orders for global automakers such as Hyundai-Kia Motors Volkswagen and Ford.

In addition, the separator (which accounts for 20% of the cost of the battery), one of the core materials of secondary batteries, has recently aggressively expanded facilities abroad. The factory in Jeungpyeong, Chungcheongbuk-do has an annual production capacity of 530 million square meters, and factories under construction in China and Poland will operate sequentially. It is a perspective.

SK Innovation announced that 60% of this year’s annual facility investment of 4 trillion won will be used for batteries and separators in a conference call to announce its earnings on the 30th, and the earnings improvement is projected to continue. .

Lee Myung-young, head of financial division at SK Innovation, said: “In order to effectively deal with the uncertainty in the business environment, we will establish a firm establishment of new businesses such as batteries and materials.”

Meanwhile, SK Innovation appears to be able to remove the uncertainty first by solving the pre-lawsuit issue between LG Chem and the US With the recent ITC postponing the final decision until December 10, the possibility of agreement with LG Chem is open, and if the pink future of the battery business that SK Innovation draws will be maintained depending on how much the gap between the two companies is reduced (point of agreement). The main argument is that it will be decided.

■ Samsung SDI, possibility of being installed in Hyundai Ioniq … Battery application without module, common denominator of design and space of both companies?

As it is known that Samsung SDI will participate in the battery supply business for Hyundai Motors’ Ioniq 7, it is expected to have an effect on the changes in the ranking of the global battery sector as well as the improvement in business performance. of batteries. It is known that two companies will be selected as suppliers for the battery supply business for Ionic 7 with a scale of up to 30 billion won.

According to the rechargeable battery industry and vehicles completed on the 30th, Samsung SDI is preparing to participate in a tender to select a battery supplier for the third production of the ‘E-GMP’ electric vehicle platform, which is currently in March by Hyundai Motor Company.

In September, Hyundai Motor Company announced a bid for the third E-GMP project for major battery companies at home and abroad. The third installment is known to be worth 30 billion won. The first fixed amount was 10 billion won (Ioniq 5, SK Innovation), and the second part was 16 billion won (Ioniq 6, SK Innovation, CATL). Considering the growth of electric vehicles, the third amount was 30 trillion won. The industry predicts.

An industry insider said: “Samsung and Hyundai haven’t had a direct deal, but the atmosphere is changing recently. With the Kona Electric problem, where LG’s chemical batteries are the main cause of fire, Hyundai Motor Company has a plan to reduce reliance on LG Chem due to safety and reliability concerns. As there are currently only a few companies in the world that make high-quality batteries, Hyundai may want Samsung SDI’s share to compete with each other. ”

In addition to this, personal friendships with Vice President Lee Jae-yong and President Eui-sun Eui-sun, and the first visit to Samsung SDI during the visit to three domestic battery companies in May. In future mobility projects, the synergies that will arise from the use of convergence technology when the two companies cooperate (equipped with semiconductors of electric vehicles and home appliances, 5G communication networks) are considered the main reasons.

Additionally, in August, Hyundai Motor Company introduced its Ioniq electric car brand and announced plans to have a higher level of product competitiveness in the ▲ design ▲ performance ▲ space.

Samsung SDI Executive Vice President Yoon Tae-il will give a keynote address on the topic 'Rechargeable Battery Market Status and Outlook' at 'The Battery Conference 2020'.  (Photo / Reporter Kang Min)
Samsung SDI Executive Vice President Yoon Tae-il will deliver a keynote address on the theme ‘State and Outlook of the Rechargeable Battery Market’ at ‘The Battery Conference 2020’. (Photo / Reporter Kang Min)

In this sense, on the 22nd at The Battery Conference 2020, the CEO of Samsung SDI, Yoon Tae-il, mentioned the battery without module being developed by Samsung SDI in the opening speech “ State and perspective of the rechargeable battery market ” He stressed that the module-free battery can be advantageously applied in terms of vehicle design, as it is characterized by eliminating wasted space in the module unit and improving space utilization as much as possible.

When asked if there are car manufacturers currently discussing the application of the module-less battery pack in this magazine, Yun said, “The problem of exposing the customer’s name cannot be revealed alone and should be discussed with the customer as well. please understand. ” It will be, “he said.

Copyright holder © Current Affairs Focus Unauthorized reproduction and redistribution prohibited

[ad_2]