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| A Lotte Chemical research center in Daejeon / Courtesy of Lotte Chemical |
Lotte Chemical said Friday its second-quarter net profit fell 88.7 percent from a year earlier due to low demand amid the coronavirus pandemic.
For the April-June period, Lotte Chemical posted a net profit of 30.6 billion won ($25.8 million), compared with a profit of 271.2 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.
Lotte Chemical said the decreased profit is blamed on lower prices of its major products due to slowing demand in the markets amid increased uncertainty over the COVID-19 pandemic and trade disputes between the United States and China.
Lotte Chemical's operating profit plunged 90.5 percent year-on-year to 32.9 billion won in the second quarter. Sales fell 32.1 percent to 2.68 trillion won from 3.94 trillion won during the same period, it said.
Shares in Lotte Chemical fell 2.51 percent to 174,500 won, underperforming the broader KOSPI's 0.48 percent gain.
Lotte Chemical manufactures a wide range of petrochemical products, including polymers, monomers, basic petrochemicals, construction and interior materials.
Lotte Chemical is a petrochemical unit of Lotte Group, a South Korean retail-to-chemicals conglomerate.
Kumho Petro Chemical reported its second-quarter net income of 99.8 billion won, down 13.4 percent from a year earlier.
The company said in a regulatory filing that operating income for the April-June period fell 13 percent year-on-year to 120.1 billion won. Revenue decreased 20.6 percent to 1.02 trillion won. (Yonhap)
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