GI Tech posts strong fourth-quarter results despite a slump in the secondary battery market and returns to an annual profit. GI Tech says it posts a 2025 operating profit of 1.12 billion won, it says in February. Revenue is 36.2 billion won, down 4.1 percent from a year earlier, but net profit is 1.0 billion won.

Operating profit, however, is down 63.1 percent from a year earlier. The company says delayed capital spending by key customers, due to slowing demand in downstream industries, is the reason. Higher costs from an affiliate merger also affect results.

Fourth-quarter results drive the rebound. GI Tech says it posts 2.4 billion won in operating profit for the quarter alone. Performance is weak in the first half due to stagnant electric-vehicle demand, but it says key customers recover from the second half as they shift to ESS production. GI Tech manufactures and supplies components and equipment for electrodes used in secondary batteries and hydrogen fuel cells.

GI Tech decides on differentiated dividends. It will pay 11 won per common share and 45 won per preferred share, while paying only 3 won per share to its major shareholder who is also its chief executive. The company says the aim is to allocate improved performance first to shareholders who supported the company in a difficult environment.

The company also says its plant in Crown Point, Indiana, will begin full-scale operations in the second half of this year. The plant will supply slot dies and provide repair services to battery cell makers expanding into North America. GI Tech plans to shorten delivery times through local production and make use of IRA benefits.

A GI Tech official says, "Last year was the period when we completed improvements to our business structure as costs were reflected from the merger and future investment," adding, "This year, we will enter a phase of full-scale profitability enhancement through local production in North America."