Lotte Chemical Titan slips into the red with RM145.92 mil 2Q loss

KUALA LUMPUR (July 28): Lotte Chemical Titan Holding Bhd (LCT) suffered a net loss of RM145.92 million in the second quarter ended June 30, 2022 (2QFY22), compared with a net profit of RM382.29 million a year earlier, due to margin squeeze resulting from increase in feedstock cost and decline in results of associated company, Lotte Chemical USA Corp.

In a Bursa Malaysia filing on Thursday (July 28), the group said its revenue rose 10.8% to RM2.82 billion in 2QFY22, from RM2.54 billion a year ago, largely attributed to an increase in average product selling price by 16%.

No dividends are declared in the current quarter.

Meanwhile, for the first half of FY22, LCT registered a net loss of RM41.93 million, against a net profit of RM822.3 million in the same period last year.

Revenue, on the other hand, surged by 13.6% to RM5.58 billion from RM4.91 billion.

In a press statement, LCT president and chief executive officer Park Hyun Chul acknowledged that the challenging business landscape and pandemic-triggered uncertainties have impacted the group’s financial performance.

“With this, LCT rigorously executes the operational and business optimisation aligned to customers’ demands, resulting in a lower overall plant utilisation rate of 81%. Our operations are swiftly adaptable to the market movements to ensure the group stays on course to become the top-tier petrochemical company in Southeast Asia,” said Park.

Shares of LCT finished two sen or 1.01% higher at RM2.01, giving it a market capitalisation of RM4.65 billion.