SK Innovation saw its battery sales rise 86.33% in the second quarter of 2021, compared to the same period last year, thanks to increased new sales volumes, Kallanish reports.

The South Korean company registered an increase of 19.74% quarter-on-quarter. This is the second time in a row that the unit’s sales surpass the KRW 500 billion ($437 million) mark, with a revenue in Q2 of KRW 630.2 billion. Sales in the first-half reached KRW 1 trillion for the first time ever, SK Innovation says in its earnings statement.

The battery unit, which will soon be split-off the conglomerate as a separate business, recoded an operating profit of KRW 97.9 billion in Q2. It didn’t disclose net profit data on the preliminary financial statements published on Wednesday.

“Considering the growth rate of SK Innovation’s battery business, such high record is expected to continue for a while, and it is interpreted that battery-centred green growth has started in full swing,” the company says.

The performance was positively impacted by the early stabilisation of the Yancheng plant in China, which enable higher sales volumes in the period.

Its material business registered operating profit of KRW 41.4 billion in Q2, up by KRW 9.7 billion compared to Q1 2021. The result was again related to additional operation of the lithium-ion battery separator plan in China and stabilization of production.