The EcoPro headquarters in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. (EcoPro)
The EcoPro headquarters in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. (EcoPro)

South Korean battery materials maker EcoPro said Thursday that it swung to a profit in 2025, driven by successful investments in Indonesia and a rebound in raw material prices.

According to a regulatory filing, the company reported consolidated sales of 3.43 trillion won ($2.34 billion), up 10 percent from a year earlier. It posted an operating profit of 233.2 billion won, marking a turnaround after two consecutive years of losses.

The improved performance was largely attributed to strategic investments in Indonesia and metal trading operations. Since 2022, EcoPro has invested about 700 billion won in four smelters at the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park.

The projects generated investment gains of around 250 billion won in 2025, along with profits from the sale of nickel mixed hydroxide precipitate secured from the facilities.

External market conditions also supported the recovery. A rebound in electric vehicle sales in Europe in the second half of the year boosted demand for cathode materials, precursors and lithium across the group’s subsidiaries.

Its precursor manufacturing affiliate EcoPro Materials posted sales of 392.5 billion won, up 31 percent from a year earlier. While the unit recorded an annual operating loss of 64.5 billion won, it returned to profitability in the fourth quarter, supported by higher capacity utilization and inventory valuation gains following rising metal prices.

EcoPro maintained a positive outlook for this year, citing favorable market conditions. The company raised its projected annual earnings from Indonesian operations and trading by 20 percent to 220 billion won.

Rising raw material prices are also expected to support profitability. As of January, nickel prices stood at $17.7 per kilogram, up 16 percent from the end of the third quarter last year. Lithium prices rose 98 percent to $19.0 per kilogram, while cobalt climbed 62 percent to $55.6 per kilogram over the same period.

“We focused on strengthening management efficiency to overcome the downturn, while securing future growth engines such as the Indonesian smelting business,” EcoPro CEO Song Ho-jun said. “This year, we plan to introduce AI and robotics across our business sites to stabilize profitability.”


sunblessyou@heraldcorp.com