Songwon Industrial third-quarter operating profit jumps 340 percent

Songwon Industrial said Thursday its third-quarter operating profit jumped 340.1 percent from a year earlier to 23.7 billion won ($17.8 million).

Revenue for the quarter rose 16.5 percent to 301 billion won ($225 million) from 259 billion won a year earlier. The operating result nonetheless marked a step down from the second quarter, when Songwon posted 39.8 billion won in operating profit on revenue of 328 billion won.

The company attributed the second-quarter surge to tighter polymer stabilizer supply and firmer prices as the Middle East conflict lifted demand and raw material and logistics constraints squeezed the market, pushing sales volumes, selling prices and margins higher at once. Songwon moved on pricing this year, announcing increases in March and adding further rises in April tied to the Middle East conflict, which took effect immediately.

"Close collaboration across the organization allowed us to secure supply continuity and respond to changing customer needs, strengthening our position as a reliable partner," Chief Financial Officer Johannes Honegger said.

At the time of its second-quarter release, Songwon said it expected third-quarter business conditions to be similar to the prior quarter, and that the outlook beyond the third quarter was difficult to gauge given geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty, supply chain disruptions and volatility in raw material prices.

Songwon makes industrial chemicals including polymer stabilizers, fuel and lubricant additives and coatings, and is one of the world's largest polymer stabilizer manufacturers.