SK Innovation Co., Ltd. (A096770) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

[Interpreted] Good afternoon. I am Chung So-young from the IR team at SK Innovation. Thank you for joining the company's Q1 2025 Earnings Presentation. I have with me SK Innovation CFO, Seo Geon-ki; Head of Corporate Finance Planning Office, [indiscernible]; and the management team from each business. For the call today, CFO, Seo Geon-ki, will first run through the company-wide business results for the first quarter of 2025 followed by presentations from each business division, after which we will have a Q&A session. Please note that the numbers we are presenting today have yet to be audited by the external auditor and thus are subject to change upon review. With that, let me invite CFO, Seo Geon-ki to present the Q1 performance.

[Interpreted] Good afternoon. This is Seo Geon-ki, CFO of SK Innovation. Allow me to start by thanking shareholders, investors and analysts for your continued interest in the company. And I will begin with the highlights of the first quarter business performance. First, from the exploration well at the Vietnam Block 15-2/17 that we drilled last year, SK Earthon was able to confirm oil reserves and is currently test producing a maximum 10,000 barrels per day. SK Earthon acquired a 25% stake in the block and started to participate in 2019. The crude from the test production is a light oil low on impurities, making it easy to refine and highly marketable. In addition, it is found to have a high oil to gas ratio. In the second half, we are planning to drill an appraisal well to assess the reserves and the company is also conducting multiple exploration and development projects in Vietnam and Malaysia, which is expected to contribute to future revenue and profit growth. Second, as announced on March 19, SK On has signed a battery supply agreement with Nissan. The batteries will be for the North American market and it represents a total of 99.4 gigawatt hours. Mass production is slated to start in 2028. This contract is significant as it represents the first order from a Japanese customer for our company. In addition, the company was able to secure a 20 gigawatt hour order from the U.S. EV start-up slate successfully diversifying our customer base. And going forward, we will continue with efforts to expand our demand base and improve our profitability. Lastly, we expect our U.S. battery capacity utilization to improve significantly. With the recent trends of OEMs seeking more and more local supply, the company expects a meaningful improvement in the utilization and also sales volume of the U.S. capacity when compared to the previous year. Amid uncertainties on tariff and EV related policies, the company is to improve margins by increasing sales volume and operational efficiency through cost savings. So this wraps up my highlights on the first quarter. Now let me move on to the first quarter performance in a bit more detail. On the top line, the first quarter was the first quarter where SK Innovation E&S performance was reflected in full since the merger that took place last November 1. As a result, revenue increased KRW 1,740.9 billion quarter-over-quarter to KRW 21,146.6 billion. On operating profit, though the battery business profits increased and SKI E&S was included in full, weak crude prices and spreads driven by macro uncertainties include tariffs led to a decline in profit in the refinery, petrochemical and lubricants business; which resulted in operating profit decreasing KRW 204.5 billion to record an operating loss of KRW 44.6 billion. On the nonoperating side, an increase in equity method gains and FX-related gains from weaker yuan drove nonoperating profit higher KRW 1.013 billion quarter-over-quarter to post a loss of KRW 287.8 billion. In detail, FX-related gains were KRW 42.7 billion, product derivative losses KRW 24.3 billion; net interest expenses KRW 319.6 billion; equity method gains KRW 20.2 billion and other expenses were KRW 7 billion. Next let me discuss our financials. As of the first quarter 2025 end, total assets stood at KRW 111.9 trillion, an increase in working capital for the energy and petrochemical business and facility investments in overseas battery sites increased assets by approximately KRW 1.4 trillion versus the end of last year. Liabilities were KRW 75.4 trillion as CapEx increased versus the last year-end and net debt increased around KRW 4.3 trillion. The debt-to-equity ratio was up by 28 percent points versus the fourth quarter end at 207%. Next we will present the first quarter performance by business line. The performance and outlook for each business line will be presented by management from the respective areas. First, the refinery business. [indiscernible], Head of Corporate Planning from SK Energy, will give the presentation.

[Interpreted] Good afternoon. This is [indiscernible], Head of Corporate Planning from SK Energy, and let me go over our refinery business. The operating profit for the refinery business in the first quarter was KRW 36.3 billion, a decline of KRW 306.1 billion quarter-over-quarter. The main driver was the fall in crude prices and weaker refining margins. Crude prices in January increased due to the cold weather in Europe, but recorded a lower level for the full quarter due to concerns on a global slowdown and the ease of production cuts by the OPEC+. Though it was a low season, refining margins were under pressure as utilization of capacity in Africa and the Middle East grew. As refining margins have weakened, the company is maintaining a conservative run rate and is continuously optimizing the value chain based on its flexibility. In addition, cost saving efforts are also being made. Next let me share our second quarter market outlook. On the back of concerns about trade conflicts and a recession stemming from Trump's tariff policy, crude prices had declined further. We expect market volatility to be high based on the results of the tariff negotiations. Many institutions are forecasting weak crude prices, but regional prices are needed to support Trump's so-called drill baby drill campaign. Thus, we expect further price declines to be limited as geopolitical tensions such as a stronger Iran sanctions are maintained. Refining margins declined because of recession concerns, but we believe margins have bottomed out. Approaching summer, demand will increase due to the driving season and AC demand. The turnaround of the Nigerian Dakote refinery and low ASP are also expected to drive refining margins gradually higher. Thank you. Next a presentation on the Petrochemical business will be given by Kim Yong-soo, Head of Management and Planning Office at SK Geo Centric.

[Interpreted] This is Kim Yong-soo, Head of Management and Planning Office of SK Geo Centric. Let me discuss the Petrochemical business performance. As the PX and polymer markets continue to be weak, the Petrochemical business recorded an operating loss of KRW 114.3 billion, continuing losses on the previous quarter. Next let me discuss the second quarter outlook for our key products. Aromatic spreads are expected to improve as regional PX supply decreases while new PTA capacity will go online in the second half, but uncertainties in the downstream industry due to U.S.-China trade conflicts will continue to have an impact. So the level of improvement on spreads is expected to be modest. On polymers, we expect spreads in the short term to improve because naphtha prices are declining while product prices are expected to hold, but there are still concerns about supply increases over the mid- to long term. Against an unfavorable business environment, the company will continue efforts to improve operational efficiency/power and fixed cost, rebalance the portfolio and strengthen integration with the refinery business together with SK Energy to secure competitiveness and improve profitability. Thank you. Next [ Kim Ji-yong ], Head of Corporate Planning and Development Office, will present the Lubricants business.

[Interpreted] I am [ Kim Ji-yong ], Head of Corporate Planning and Development Office at SK ON presenting on the lubricant business. On the back of economic slowdown in major countries, lubricant business saw a decline in margin and sales volume, which drove operating profit down KRW 18.1 billion to report KRW 121.4 billion. Despite new global capacity additions scheduled in 2025, we expect Group 3 products, which are our core offerings to continue to face solid demand. And in light of our robust market position, we expect to sustain stable profitability in 2025. Thank you. Next from SK Earthon, Kim Jin-won, Head of Planning and Support, will present on the first quarter E&P business results.

[Interpreted] Hello. I am Kim Jin-won, Head of Planning and Support, and I will present on our E&P business. Due to a decline in the first quarter sales volume, operating profit for E&P business fell KRW 25.4 billion Q-on-Q reporting KRW 120.4 billion. This was because of increase in hydropower generation following the onset of the rainy season in Peru, which pushed down gas demand for power generation thus impacting the sales of the company's Peruvian block. On March 2025 at China's 17/03 block, which is in production, we successfully completed drilling 2 additional production wells and have commenced production. Based on good productivity of the wells, we are currently in discussion with the same partner to decide whether to drill additional production wells. Also for the Vietnam 15-2/17 block where we confirmed the presence of oil reserve and ran test production, works are underway as planned for drilling evaluation wells in the second half of the year. Thank you.

[Interpreted] Next, I will invite CFO, Kim Jin-Won of SKN ON, to present on the battery business results.

[Interpreted] Hello. I'm Kim Jin-won, CFO of SK ON. I will go over the company's Q1 '25 results and second quarter outlook. Despite the base effect last quarter from booking nonrecurring revenue as major customers are ramping up for mass production ahead of their new car releases and on better utilizations from OEM plants, we saw an increase in sales volume mostly in North America with Q1 revenue reaching KRW 1,605.4 billion. On the back of bottom line expansion following higher sales in North America, Q1 operating profit improved KRW 60.1 billion Q-on-Q reporting a loss of KRW 299.3 billion. In Q2, we will continue to drive for earnings improvement by enhancing utilization of plants in the U.S., but we see that there is elevated level of uncertainties in the market as seen from the shift in the U.S. tariff policy. Policy-related uncertainties, including tariff, will impact firstly on OEMs who sell their vehicles into the U.S. market. In response to OEMs need to increase their sourcing from the U.S. supply chain, we will closely monitor development so as to fully utilize our strength in owning and building production sites inside the U.S. and be nimble in minimizing geopolitical risks. Also, based on superior technological expertise we have in NCM pouch, we recently won new orders from new customers serving North American market. And in March, we secured an order for 99.4 gigawatt tower from Nissan, which is an amount that could be used for around 1 million vehicles. And last week, we received an order for 20 gigawatt hour enough for 300,000 vehicles from an EV start-up slate. These wins are meaningful as it demonstrates customer diversification and greater number of customers in North America, which is our core market. As the electrification partner to our customers, we will actively leverage our technology and know-how to continue to provide the necessary support. Thank you. Next is on the SKIE technology business. For the company's material business, sales volume was up Q-on-Q and a base effect from last quarter's one-off expense loss narrowed marginally driven by bottom line improvement. In Q2 on growth in sales to key customers and start of base film sales, we project meaningful increase in sales volume versus last quarter. Next presenting on Q1 SK Innovation E&S results, I invite SK Innovation E&S' Head of Management Planning Office, [ Kang Yong-gwon ].

[Interpreted] Good afternoon. I am [ Kang Yong-gwon ], Head of Management Planning at SK Innovation E&S. Demand for winter heating led to an increase in city gas sales driving SK Innovation E&S Q1 operating profit up KRW 78.9 billion Q-on-Q to KRW 193.1 billion. As we move into slow seasonality in Q2 and with the start of preemptive maintenance and power plants ahead of the summer season, we expect there to be Q-on-Q decline in operating profit. However, our plan is to carry out various activities to enhance the bottom line through a stable operation of the power plant during summer season when electricity demand is at its peak. Thank you. This ends the earnings presentation, and now we move on to Q&A.

[Interpreted] We will first address several questions which we received via the company's website. For this earnings call, we received questions from the investors and analysts ahead of time and preselected questions that was of most interest. For those frequently asked questions, we will provide you with the answer through simultaneous interpretation. First question is on the battery business. What is the impact of Trump administration's tariff policy and what are your company's countermeasures? I ask CFO, Kim Kyung Hoon of SK On to respond to this question.

[Interpreted] Yes. This is Kim Kyung Hoon responding to that question. Now the impact across EV and EV battery business is inevitable following uncertainties of the U.S. tariff policy. OEMs seem to be taking wait-and-see stance, monitoring how things develop under highly uncertain policy backdrop to get color on the future policy direction. Now having said that, they are moving towards increasing the share of local production to prepare for higher tariff. For us, having a stable production site inside the United States and the fact the majority of cars using our battery is either in production or slated for production in the U.S. works as a positive versus our peers. Having local production is a pro or a strength for us. But from the overall supply chain perspective, we expect short-term cost impact arising from the United States tariff policy. So in order to mitigate this impact, we will localize sourcing of raw material from the U.S. in the mid to longer term and are looking into sourcing anodes, which is highly China dependent from non-China region. We're going to closely monitor how the tariff policy as well as the market develops. We will closely collaborate and cooperate with government and relevant agencies so that we respond to uncertainties and minimize any potential impact.

[Interpreted] We move on to the second question. The question is on SK Innovation corporate-wide issue. Due to recent increase in borrowings and weak performance, SK Innovation seems to be needing improvement in financials. What effort is the company putting in to strengthen your financial soundness? I invite [indiscernible], Head of Finance Division of SK Innovation to take this question.

[Interpreted] Yes. Responding to this question. Against elevated level of uncertainties after the start of Second Trump administration, we've been focusing on improving financial soundness by maximizing profitability as well as going through portfolio rebalancing. We are closely considering different options to improve cash flow and debt-to-equity ratio, but I ask for your indulgence as we are unable to disclose the specifics. We will finalize a detailed plan on improving the financial position as early as possible and we will communicate with the market. Now for 2025 CapEx, I can tell you that it has been significantly lowered year-on-year and once SK On's North America JV with Ford and Hyundai Motor Group JV is completed, CapEx spend will continue to trend down going forward. On top of this, we are also continuously working to enhance profitability of the company's business. Despite headwinds due to slump in global demand and heightened competition in refining, LNG and petrochemical businesses through optimization and synergies across business; we are working towards profitability improvement and have set that as our goal. For the battery business, compared to the fourth quarter, in Q1 both the utilization of our U.S. plant and sales volume all went up and we expect same trend to continue on into the second quarter. And as mentioned before, in addition to new order wins from Japanese and U.S. OEMs, we will solidify earnings capacity through continuously working on securing order wins, which will help ensure sustainable growth. We will focus corporate-wide resources and capabilities and exert our utmost to drive tangible results in the nearest possible future. So we have now answered the questions we previously collected and we'll now take questions from the participants on this call. Please note that we will now shift to consecutive translation. Please also state your name and affiliation when posing your question.

[Interpreted] [Operator Instructions] The first question will be provided by [indiscernible] from Daiwa Securities.

[Interpreted] There are 3 questions that I would like to ask you. First, about your battery business. If you look at the EV market, it does seem to be that right now, there are some signs of the market recovering. So do you think that this is a trend that will continue? And with regard to Europe right now, for the shipments that you have for Europe, do you think that as a reflection of the market recovery that there will be an increase that you will be able to see? In addition to that, for the overall utilization that you have, what would be the target level that you're planning to achieve? The second question that I would like to ask is about CATL. CATL recently in an event actually did announce their mid- to long-term strategy, and they also announced the possibility of having a sodium ion battery that they would be able to apply for mass production for passenger cars. So for the company, do you have any plans also to come out with the mid- to long-term strategy announcement or such event? The third question that I would like to ask you is about your E&P business. On the E&P side, you did talk about Vietnam and also the test production that is taking place. What would be the overall marketability of the test production volume that you have seen?

[Interpreted] So maybe I can address the first question. This is Chan, the Head of Finance Support Office at SK On. So as you have mentioned in the European market across January and February, if you look at the EV sales volume, it represents 510,000 units, and that would represent a 21% growth versus the same period last year. So as a result, that does show a recovery. So if you look at the drivers behind why there has been a recovery since 2021, there has been more versus 2021 in actuality. If you look at the situation for the CO2 emission regulations, stronger regulations are something that will go into effect this year. And as a result, for the key OEMs, they have been expanding their mid- to low-range lineup that is more competitive in light with these regulatory environment to satisfy the regulations, which has been driven the demand. So according to the sales trend recovery that we see within the market, if you look at our performance, we also have seen a 27% increase in our sales volume when compared to the same period last year. And this is due to the increased demand that we have seen driven by the new car launches in Europe of our key customers. So for 2025 on a full year basis, we do think that there will be an increase in our sales volume versus the previous year, and that will impact our overall utilization. That have been said, we still believe that there are a lot of uncertainties within the market. So whether this is a sustainable trend is something that we will have to continue to monitor and also see. So to move on to the second question, I do think that you mentioned the announcement made by one of our competitors about the sodium-ion battery and also whether we would be looking at an opportunity to also present our mid- to long-term development strategy. Maybe to answer the question at point first, as of now, we don't have any plans to come up with such an event to actually present the new technology that we are developing or any of the next-generation batteries. But I do think that this is something that in stages, we would make information available about. However, that have been said, through various events such as InterBattery, we do communicate, of course, with the outside about various developments that are taking place. And maybe we can use this opportunity to shortly discuss the future direction in which we're trying to head. So up until now, if you look at the focus that we have had for our battery development, it has been on the NCM pouches, which would be the high-performance pouches. And to maximize the overall benefits that the pouches provide, we have been focusing our technology development in this area. So in addition to that, of course, on the pouch side, we also want to increase the overall marketability of the products that we have and also lower the cost. So therefore, the technology that we're looking at would be the dry electrodes and also utilizing and expanding the base that we have in the pouch area. So we're also looking at mid-nickel chemistries. In addition to that, not only for pouches, but we're also looking at prismatic batteries. So this is something that we're targeting mass production for at around 2028 as of now. And after 2028, I think that the focus that we have would be for the next-generation battery development in terms of technology, which would be semi-solid-state batteries or it could be sulfide-based full solid-state batteries. So of course, for the cylindrical batteries and also LFP batteries, the basic technology that is necessary has already been developed and that has been completed. So according to our customer needs, we will look into the way on how we will approach mass production of these products as necessary and also the commercialization of that. So going forward, for any R&D developments that we have and achievements that we can share with you, we will make sure to share that. In addition to that, any news events that we have on new orders is also something that we will continue to update you about in the future.

[Interpreted] Yes. Maybe I can address your third question. This is Kim Jin-won the Head of Planning and the Support Office at SK Earthon. So in the case of the Vietnam 15-2/17 block in which we actually confirmed the presence of oil at the end of last year. Right now, we have drilled the first exploration well. So that has been completed, and we're in the process of doing the follow-up assessment for that. So according to the results of the evaluation that we currently have, starting from the second half of this year, we are planning to drill maybe 3 to 4 additional appraisal wells. And once that drilling is completed, then based upon the analysis of the results that we have seen, we would be able to come up with an assessment on the overall size of the reserves that we have and set forth with establishing the development plan accordingly. So with regards to the commercial attractiveness of this well, I think that it's a bit too early to talk about that. But if you refer to the earnings material that has been released by the operator Murphy, I do think that you will be able to come up with assessment on the overall size that we are potentially looking at. In addition to that, if you look at the overall announcements or assessments that have -- views that have been provided by market intelligence -- market intelligence company, Wood Mackenzie, what they have said is that if you look at the past decade of various exploration wells that have been driven in Vietnam, our well is actually assessed to be one of the highest potential wells that have existed during that period of time. So this year, for the Vietnam 15-1/05 Block and the Vietnam 16-2 Block, we are also planning to drill additional exploration wells. And for the Vietnam 15-2/17 Block, as mentioned, we are going to drill appraisal wells. So if we have any detailed results from the drilling that we have had, we will make sure to update you accordingly. Thank you.

[Interpreted] The following question will be presented by [ Hung-jun Shin ] from Shinyoung Securities.

[Interpreted] I am [ Shin Hung-jun ] from Shinyoung Securities. I would like to ask you 2 questions, both regarding SK On. My first question is that during the InterBattery Exhibition that was held in March, you showcased your cylindrical batteries as well as unidirectional prismatic batteries and LFPs. I think there's high level of interest on the new form factor and chemistry that the company is presenting. Since you are a later entrant in cylindrical as well as prismatic battery segment and because your chemistry is dependent on NCM, I would like to understand as to what SK On's strategy is for you to gain and secure your competitiveness in terms of battery form factor and chemistry. Second question relates to SK On's effort regarding improving your financial position.

[Interpreted] I am [indiscernible] from SK On. I'm the Head of Financial Support Office responding to your first question. You asked me questions about the form factor and the chemistry. And I can tell you, as I mentioned previously as well, our focus lies with the prismatic batteries. That's where our focus currently is. We have completed the technological development for the cylindrical batteries as well, but we move in line with the needs and the requirements of our customers. And you've mentioned that relatively speaking, you consider us to be a later entrant, I could see where you're coming from. But in terms of the way we do our business and the way we move, we align with the needs that is expressed by our customers. At this point, we have the technologies already developed for the bidirectional and unidirectional batteries. And our objective and target is to start mass production from 2027 and '28 onwards. And we are, at this point, discussing and talking to the OEMs with regards to their needs and requirements on the prismatic batteries. In terms of the chemistry, we're first looking at taking LFPs for the ESS market. That is where we are focusing on at this point. And in terms of the -- and we are in the process of trying to gain the ESS Central national contract. We wish to be able to win that order. And due to the tariff-related policies coming out of the United States, we expect that there will emerge more opportunities for us to capture, and it is based -- so we are going to focus on the U.S. market for the time being, and we are talking to our customers to identify opportunities for us to win orders. To add a little more on the LFP batteries by leveraging our capabilities that we've built in developing the NCMs basically in terms of the process technology and the design capabilities, we have applied that to LFP and have extended the lifespan of LFP batteries. And some of the weaknesses that were identified for LFP batteries were its shorter driving range and also low temperature output was considered to be the weak point for LFP, but we've been able to apply and upgrade the material and process-related technologies to improve those properties. And so basically, by addressing these weaknesses, we believe that we've been able to position our LFP business positioning quite solidly, and we wish to leverage that in order to win orders.

[Interpreted] Responding to your second question, this is CFO, Kim Kyung Hoon from SK On. So starting last year, SK On in order to enhance its financials have carried out mergers with SK Trading International and SK Enterm in order to improve on our financial standing and also through capital increase and injection of KRW 1.5 trillion, we were able to improve on our financials. Most recently, with the end of the ATM loan-related contract base, there was a significant amount of withdrawal that actually took place, which undermined our financial -- some of the indicators and financial ratios. But as we are nearing the end of extensive amount of CapEx spending, we believe that the burden in terms of needing to finance and fund more capital has been eased. In light of the free cash flow that we have, we are currently looking into -- in terms of recapitalization as well as optimizing and enhancing the efficiency of our assets. There are various different self-help measures that we are looking into in order to drive improvement on the financials, and we will continue to consider different options.

[Interpreted] The following question will be presented by Woo-Je Chun from KB Securities.

[Interpreted] I would like to ask 2 questions, one about your lubricants business and the second about your E&S business. On the lubricants business, I would like to know what you believe or what your view would be about the supply-demand dynamics within the market? Also, how would your view or outlook be over the longer-term horizon? And how do you look at your lubricants business in light of the overall age of EVs that will be coming going forward? The second question that I would like to ask is about your SKI E&S business. On that side, for the Caldita-Barossa gas fields and the introduction of the gas that -- the LNG that will be generated there, I do believe that it will be starting to come in, in full in 2026. So is that correct? And if that is so, how much contribution would there be to your profits accordingly?

[Interpreted] Yes. First, let me introduce myself. I am [indiscernible], the Head of the Corporate Planning and Development Office at SK Enmove. And maybe I can address your question about the lubricants business. So as you have mentioned, as EVs are more penetrated within the market and they become more common across the board, we do think that over the longer term, the overall size of the base oil and lubricants market could decrease as a result of that. However, due to the stronger environment-related regulations, if you look at engine oil specifically, the fuel efficiency specifications have been strengthened. So for the Group III and Group III plus areas in which we are currently present, we actually believe that there will continue to be stronger demand. So the overall view that we would have about the CAGR of the market across the horizon from 2025 to 2035 would be in the low 2% range. So based upon the current strong market positioning that we have within the market, we do think that for the foreseeable future that we would be able to enjoy a stable profit generation. In addition, according to the electrification trend, we also believe that there will continue to be a market expansion in the area of EV fluids, immersion cooling-related needs and also HVAC coolants. So for the company, this is -- these are new business areas that we are actively trying to pursue. So even in a so-called era of EVs, we still want to create a sustainable and balanced portfolio. Thank you. [Interpreted] Yes, [ I am Kang Yong-gwon ], the Head of the Management Planning Office at SK E&S. And maybe I can address your second question about the Caldita-Barossa gas field. So if you look at the timing on when the actual performance from the Australian gas fields will start to be included into our financials, it would be the fourth quarter of 2025. And if we look at the full year of 2026, for our portion of the production volume, that would represent 1.3 million tons that we would have coming in for LNG. So we would not be able to share with you specific numbers about how much that would represent in terms of profit. But we do think that on the operating income line, if you look at our '26 performance versus that of '25, you will be able to see a meaningful improvement in the overall numbers. So if we look at the year 2026 specifically, we do think that in total, for the low-cost LNG volume that we will be able to import, that would represent approximately 3 million tons, which could be broken down by the Tango volume of around 500,000 tons, from our North American gas fields around 1.1 million tons. And then from the Caldita-Barossa gas fields around 1.3 million tons. So we think that all in all, this will enhance our overall profitability significantly.

[Interpreted] The following question will be presented by [ Sung-Hoon Kim ] from Hyundai Motor Securities.

[Interpreted] I am Kang Dong Jin from Hyundai Motor Securities. I would like to ask you 3 questions. The first one is I would like to know as to what your overseas investment plans are at SKI E&S, including potential investment into the Alaska LNG project. Second question is that SKI E&S recently also codeveloped a financial instrument based off of a PPA agreement. I would like to understand as to what you're thinking or what your business update is with regards to RE100. And then the third question has to do with an update on Enmove's IPO.

[Interpreted] Responding to your first question, I take it that your question relates to most likely an investment into the gas field overseas, the LNG gas field. At this point, we do not have plans to expand direct equity investment. Now, however, we will closely monitor the growth in the LNG demand, both domestic and overseas, and there will be time where we would need a gas field at low equity price. We will look at how our value chain expansion goes forward. And when we deem necessary, we will make appropriate investment into the gas field, small-scale gas field. Responding to the second question on Renewable Energy 100. As global companies are calling upon its value chain companies to use renewable energies, domestic companies are starting to declare RE100. And as we see continuous increase in the electricity cost for industrial usage, domestic companies are entering into or using long-term agreements as a transitional method in transitioning to RE100 status, and they are preferring to enter into directly a power purchase agreement as a means to hedge increase in electricity prices. And as you know, since the introduction of the PPA system in the domestic PPA market in September of '22, we've seen CAGR growth of around 43%, and we expect to see a more bigger market size as we go forward. SK E&S was the first to execute in Korea, the PPA with AmorePacific back in year 2022. And including SK affiliates, we've expanded our customer base to include Hyundai Motor Company and Samsung Display, and we basically have an agreement that amount to above 1.2 gigawatt of cumulative capacity, which is the biggest in Korea. Going forward, not only will we expand our direct PPAs leveraging off of our own resources, we will also work together with renewable energy players and financial institutions to launch products so that we can solidify our market leadership in domestic PPA market. [Interpreted] The third question, this is [indiscernible] on SK Enmove IPO. I'd like to respond to that question. In order to strengthen our competitiveness in the global lubricant as well as base oil market and also to lay a solid foundation for us to drive sound growth, we are looking into many different strategies and IPO is one of such strategies that we can choose, and we are very prudently looking into that possibility. But I ask for your understanding that at this point, we will not be able to share with you any specifics or details sitting here today. But I can assure you that once we determine -- once we decide on the details and the specifics, we will definitely come back to you and share with you more information on a timely manner.

[Interpreted] The last question will be presented by Yu-Jin Jeon from HI Investment & Securities Co., Ltd.

[Interpreted] The question that I would like to ask you is about your SKI E&S business. If you look at the first quarter performance and if you look at the overall operating profit, if you -- taking all things into consideration, even though the S&P in itself on a Y-o-Y basis is at a lower level, it does seem to be that your performance is a bit weak. And if you compare that to the other private power producers that are within the market, they actually have had a solid performance. So what would be the driver behind the weaker performance that we see at SKI E&S? Is it because there were losses on the trading side that you had incurred? Or is it because the margins for your city gas business is lower than for other areas? So if you could explain the reasons behind that, that would be something that you -- that I would appreciate. And on the financial structure side, I think that you did mention that there will be improvements that you would be pursuing going forward. So in terms of the net debt amount that the company holds right now, if you look at that range, it's around maybe around KRW 32 trillion to KRW 33 trillion. So for the full year and maybe looking at the number at the end of the year, can we expect it to be at a lower level? Or how do you see that progressing going forward?

[Interpreted] So maybe I can address your first question, and I think that the question was about why our margins in the first quarter were lower on a Y-o-Y basis. I think that we can look at 2 reasons behind that. So the first reason would be that, as you have mentioned, the SMP was at a lower level during the quarter. And as a result of that, we did have a lower top line. So if you look at why the SMP in itself was at a lower level, it was because the crude prices have fallen. And added to that, on the baseload power side, there was new capacity that entered in, which would be coal-fired baseload power. And the second would be the import cost that we have as a company. So for SKI E&S, the actual costs in which we import are tagged to or linked to multiple indexes, which include the crude price, the Henry Hub Index and also the spot price within the market. So if you look at the first quarter of these various indexes that we use on a Y-o-Y basis, the spot price, which would be the JKM index is actually at a higher level. So in the short term, that had the effect of increasing our import cost.

[Interpreted] So on the second question, I am the CFO, Seo Geon-ki, and maybe I can address your question. So if you look at our net debt-to-EBITDA ratio for the company on a consolidated basis, the company is taking various efforts to try to improve this ratio. So if you look at the current trends within the company in terms of our overall operations, as we have mentioned during the presentation, we do think that the large-scale CapEx requirements are something that have somewhat come to an end at the end of last year. And so for 2025, we think that in general, CapEx will be at a lower level. Added to that, as we have also mentioned before, we're engaging on various efforts to rebalance our portfolio. So as of now, it would be difficult to specify a number, but we are putting our best efforts behind decreasing our net debt levels. Thank you.

[Interpreted] This brings us to the end of earnings release by SK Innovation for its Q1 2025 results. Thank you very much to our investors and analysts for being -- for joining us today. Thank you. [Portions of this transcript that are marked [Interpreted] were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]