Ecopro BM: Another Major Rechargeable Battery Play With A Sharp Improvement In Earnings in 2Q 2025

• Ecopro BM reported net profit of 34.3 billion won (up 397% YoY and TB YoY in 2Q25). Profits from its Indonesian investment also contributed to earnings, reaching 40.5 billion won.

• The European EV market started to turn around in 2Q 2025 driven by OEM new car launches and customer inventory normalization compared to the end of 2024.

• There are increasing signs of a positive turnaround at Ecopro BM. The company's excellent results in 2Q 2025 are likely to result in higher earnings revisions by the consensus.

Source: Ecopro BM

The rechargeable battery sector has been one of the most battered sectors in Korea in the past two and half years. However, there have been several large cap companies (including Ecopro BM (247540 KS) and LG Energy Solution (373220 KS)) that have reported excellent improvement in earnings in 2Q 2025 which suggests an improving turnaround on the key companies in this sector.

Excellent Results in 2Q 2025

Ecopro BM reported sales of 779.7 billion won (down 3.7% YoY and 8.1% better than consensus), operating profit of 49 billion won (up 1,156% YoY and 298% better than consensus), and net profit of 34.3 billion won (up 397% YoY and turned black YoY in 2Q 2025). This marks the second consecutive quarter of profitability, following an operating profit of 2.3 billion won in 1Q 2025. Operating margin improved from 0.9% in 2Q 2024 to 4.4% in 2Q 2025.

The improvement in earnings was driven by numerous factors including increased sales of cathode materials for EVs driven by new car launches and strong sales of key models by major automakers, as well as increased demand for power tools (PT) and energy storage systems (ESS). Furthermore, profits from its Indonesian investment also contributed to earnings, reaching 40.5 billion won.