Kumho Petrochemical's First-Quarter Net Profit Rises 21.7% as Key Products Perform Strongly

Kumho Petrochemical Co., Ltd. on Friday reported a 21.7% year-on-year increase in first-quarter net profit, helped by strong sales of its key petrochemical products.

Net profit for the three months ended March rose to 124.8 billion won ($89.1 million) from 102.5 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.

"Higher sales of synthetic rubber and improved profitability of EPDM, a heat-resistant specialty synthetic rubber used in auto parts, supported the company's earnings," a company spokesman said.

He explained that the company sold more high-end synthetic rubber products to tire manufacturers, and sales of EPDM inventory bought at low prices before the Lunar New Year holiday in late January also contributed to the improved performance.

First-quarter sales rose 14.4% to 1.9 trillion won from 1.6 trillion won a year earlier. By business unit, the company had sales of 757.2 billion won for synthetic rubber and 336 billion won for synthetic resins.

However, the company expects demand for its key products to decline in the second quarter due to planned maintenance work at its plants and increased uncertainty surrounding changes in U.S. tariff policy.