By Kang Seung-woo
SK Chemicals, Korea’s leading pharmaceutical and chemical products manufacturer, has set its sights on 3 trillion won ($2.76 billion) in sales by 2015, its chief executive said Monday.
Chief executive officer (CEO) Kim Chang-geun said through its internal broadcasting network that SK Chemicals will seek to reach a record 2 trillion won in sales in the eco-friendly chemical sector and 1 trillion won in sales in the life-science sector in 2015.
Kim, who serves as vice chairman of the board, also said that the company is targeting 300 billion won in operating profit by that time.
Last year, the company, established in 1966 as Sunkyong Chemical Fibers, raked in 1.3 trillion won in sales and 68.3 billion won in operating profit.
In line with group chairman Chey Tae-won’s pledge to increase investment into life science and pharmaceuticals, SK Chemicals has shifted its business portfolio from textiles to environmental chemicals and life sciences over the past decade.
As part of its efforts to reshuffle its business portfolio focusing on its bio and medicine industries, SK Chemicals sold its stakes in SK Eurochem, its Polish unit, and SK Keris, its Indonesian joint venture, to Thailand’s Indorama Group in December last year.
Via the deals, SK Chemicals completed its 10-year reorganization of its business, cementing its new growth engines in green chemicals and life science.
SK expects that the green chemicals business will further accelerate the implementation of projects from next-generation high-end resins to new, eco-friendly materials and alternative energies to quickly introduce them to the market, while life science will dedicate itself to uncovering new business opportunities not only in terms of existing research and development (R&D) tasks for vaccines, anti-cancer medicines and improved new medicine projects but also in the fields of medical devices and u-health care.
“In the past, SK Chemicals mainly focused on polyester, which is used for suit linings, but the business overhaul, which took 10 years, has guided the company to become a leading enterprise in the two new areas,” said an official of the firm.
“We will prevail in 2015,” said Kim.