EcoPro BM posted a quarterly profit for the first time since mid-2024, with operating income of 2.3 billion won ($1.7 million) in the first quarter, though still down 66% from a year earlier. The South Korean battery materials supplier broke a streak of two consecutive quarterly losses despite a 35.1% year-on-year decline in sales to 629.8 billion won.
The return to profitability follows a challenging period for the company, which last year contemplated slowing down and reducing its cathode material production capacity amid volatility in the global electric vehicle market. A company representative highlighted the significance of breaking “the chain of deficits” after losses in the third and fourth quarters of 2024.
The recovery was driven by a 76% quarter-on-quarter surge in sales of cathode materials for electric vehicles, which reached 503 billion won. This growth follows aggressive cost-cutting measures and manufacturing process innovations implemented in recent months.
EcoPro BM’s Hungarian plant, with an annual capacity of 54,000 tons, is scheduled to begin full-scale commercial production in the second half of 2025. The company has already secured financing, drawing 335.4 billion won in the first quarter from a previously established 1.2 trillion won credit line.
Looking ahead, EcoPro BM is accelerating research into next-generation technologies including solid electrolyte cathode materials and sodium-ion battery components, while maintaining its focus on high-nickel cathodes that “determine the charging capacity and lifespan of lithium secondary cells.” The company also aims to diversify its product portfolio beyond EVs to include energy storage systems as global demand shifts.
