SFA Engineering Corporation reported a revenue of 2.0454 trillion won and an operating loss of 479 billion won for the last year, as announced on the 14th. On a separate basis, revenue was 971.3 billion won, with an operating loss of 104.3 billion won. This annual deficit is the first since its establishment.
The bankruptcy proceedings initiated suddenly by Northvolt Ett Expansion AB, a key customer in the battery equipment institutional sector, in early October led to the recognition of significant related losses.
A company official noted, "Since the losses related to Northvolt's bankruptcy were already recognized in the third quarter, we expected operating profits to normalize in the fourth quarter, potentially reducing the annual operating loss. However, as Northvolt AB, the parent company, also entered into rehabilitation proceedings during the fourth quarter, additional provisions for doubtful debts were necessary for remaining claims."
In addition, amid domestic political instability in December, the exchange rate surged sharply, increasing the Korean won equivalent of the foreign currency bonds. Thus, it could not avoid recognizing an additional 42.8 billion won in bankruptcy-related losses, including the setting of additional provisions for doubtful debts in the fourth quarter.
SFA had secured manufacturing equipment supply contracts worth about 400 billion won from its affiliate within the Northvolt group and approximately 50 billion won from the parent company, and was in the process of production.
The company is confident in improving operating profits in 2025. This confidence is due to the substantial backlog held by SFA and its key subsidiary, CIS, alongside the reduced likelihood of additional losses related to Northvolt.
Despite the temporary demand slowdown in the battery sector, SFA is focusing on establishing next-generation growth engines by initiating commercialization of processing equipment for related materials and dedicated inspection equipment for solid-state batteries.