LC Titan: Parent Lotte Chemical Corp mulling ‘strategic measures’, but no decision made yet

KUALA LUMPUR (March 7): Lotte Chemical Titan Holding Bhd (LC Titan) said its parent company Lotte Chemical Corp (LC Corp) is considering various “strategic measures” related to the Malaysian unit.

LC Titan said this in a filing with Bursa Malaysia on Thursday after the Korea Economic Daily reported a day earlier that LC Corp had embarked on the process of selling its shareholding in the Main Market-listed petrochemicals producer.

“We wish to clarify that after making due enquiry, we understand that LC Corp is considering various strategic measures related to the company without making any decision thus far,” said LC Titan.

LC Titan’s shares closed three sen or 2.6% lower at RM1.13 on Thursday, giving the company a market capitalisation of RM2.61 billion, and valuing LC Corp’s stake at some RM1.98 billion.

LC Titan booked its seventh consecutive quarterly loss for the quarter ended Dec 31, 2023 (4QFY2023). The RM186.48 million net loss was however narrower than its RM333.64 million net loss from a year earlier, amid lower feedstock costs and forex gains.

Nonetheless, full-year net loss widened to RM780.29 million from RM731.06 million in FY2022, as revenue declined 23.68% to RM7.65 billion from RM10.19 billion.

The group attributed the weaker performance to a decline in margin and share of loss from Lotte Chemical USA Corp.

LC Titan was listed on Bursa Malaysia in July 2017, raising RM3.77 billion with an IPO price of RM6.50 per share.