South Korean conglomerate SK Innovation is confident that the US market will offer its battery business a boost in the second half of 2025, Kallanish reports.

The company said in its Q4 2024 results presentation that it foresees improvements in revenue and profit compared to last year “despite the continued uncertainty in the business landscape.” This will be driven by increased sales in its “key strategic market of North America.”

“The battery business is expected to see double-digit sales growth annually,” it adds, noting that a subsequent increase in the US’ Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax Credit (AMPC) will also contribute to better financial performance. “In addition, improved performance is expected through strengthened profitability improvement activities such as cost structure improvement and merger synergies with SK Trading International [SKTI] and SK Entem.”

SK Innovation’s battery arm SK On, the world’s fifth largest EV battery maker, had previously merged with SKTI. Earlier this month, SK Group announced the merger completion with SK Enterm – a tank terminal operator. The “3-way merger” sets SK On as a global battery and trading company, under SK Innovation. The company will now also trade both fossil fuels and battery metals and materials.

Currently, SK operates nine battery plants across South Korea, China, Hungary and the US with a combined design capacity of 121 gigawatt-hours. However, the company says its production capacity last year was estimated at 111 GWh. In 2025, the estimated production capacity will jump to 180 GWh with the commissioning of lines in the US and China.

The BlueOval SK projects in Kentucky and Tennessee will launch production this year, eventually unlocking 127 GWh of capacity. In China, the SKOJ JV in Yancheng will add 33 GWh to SK’s global production capacity. In 2026, the group has another 35-GWh factory coming online in Georgia, US, through the HMG North America joint venture.

Although the company did not disclose figures, it said its battery sales volume increased 12% in Q4 compared to Q3, with revenues rising by KRW 167.9 billion ($116.15 million). Yet, operating profit fell into the red due to the Q3 base effect and one-off expenses such as inventory valuation losses.

The amount of US credits (AMPC) increased by roughly 34% compared to the previous quarter to KRW 81.3 billion. Overall, the battery business sales ended 2024 with revenues of around $4.3 billion and operating loss of $774.7m.

SK On’s chief financial officer Kim Kyung Hoon reiterated that despite uncertainties and “changes in the global political situation,” the group anticipates a meaningful performance improvement this year. He noted that the global EV demand is set to grow steadily in the mid- to long term, driven by eco-friendly policies and OEMs’ EV line-up expansion.