L&F extended its return to profit in the first quarter as both revenue and operating profit set quarterly records.

L&F said on April 30 it posted first-quarter revenue of 735.2 billion won and operating profit of 118.9 billion won. Revenue rose 102.8 percent from a year earlier, and operating profit swung to a profit from a year-earlier loss of 140.2 billion won. Operating profit rose 42.2 percent from the previous quarter.

Shipments of high-nickel products set a quarterly record for the third straight quarter as sole supply of Ultra-HINI and expanded shipments of new 46-diameter products coincided. First-quarter shipments rose about 12 percent from the previous quarter. That was about double the volume guidance presented at the start of the year.

Higher selling prices and a rise in the exchange rate supported improved profitability. The company said additional reversals from inventory asset valuation, driven by a rebound in raw material prices, also helped widen operating profit.

The company said that even excluding inventory-related reversal factors, profit from its core business is growing on the back of a recovery in utilization rates. Net loss, however, was 65.3 billion won as non-operating losses persisted. The loss narrowed 66.1 percent from the previous quarter's 192.5 billion won loss.

The company said it expects the improvement trend to continue in the second quarter as shipments keep rising on steady demand centered on Ultra-HINI products. It also expects a rebound in selling prices driven by higher raw material prices to continue.

Its lithium iron phosphate (LFP) business is also moving into full gear. L&F is set to complete an LFP plant with annual capacity of 30,000 tonnes in the second quarter and plans to begin mass production by the end of the third quarter. It aims to build a production system with total capacity of 60,000 tonnes in the first half of 2027.

The company said it secured an LFP supply contract in the first quarter, the first such deal by a non-China company. It is also pursuing additional customers as the North American ESS (energy storage system) market expands and supply chains are reshuffled.

Lyu Seung-heon (류승헌), L&F's chief financial officer, said, "The first quarter was a quarter in which the improvement in profit and loss became clear as volume growth centered on high-nickel and higher selling prices appeared at the same time." He said, "In the second quarter, we will continue stable performance improvements based on growing shipments, while diversifying our business portfolio through a two-track NCM (nickel-cobalt-manganese) plus LFP strategy and continuously strengthening our foundation for mid- to long-term growth."