[Edaily Reporter JAEMIN SONG ] SAMSUNG SDI CO.,LTD.’s utilization rate for its small-sized battery production facilities rebounded to the 70% range in the first half of this year. Research and development (R&D) expenses exceeded 850 billion won, accounting for 11.7% of revenue.

According to SAMSUNG SDI CO.,LTD.’s semi-annual report released on the 14th, the average capacity utilization rate at small battery production facilities in Cheonan and Tianjin, China, stood at 73% in the first half of this year. This represents a 22.6 percentage point increase from last year’s annual capacity utilization rate of approximately 50.4%.

Production capacity for small batteries in the first half of the year was 1.178 billion units, while actual production totaled 860 million units. Last year’s annual production capacity and output were 2.52 billion units and 1.269 billion units, respectively. However, the 73% figure disclosed in the report refers specifically to small battery production facilities, not those for medium- and large-sized electric vehicle (EV) and energy storage system (ESS) batteries.

Investment in research and development (R&D) to secure future competitiveness also continued. R&D expenses for the first half of the year, net of government subsidies, totaled 858.6 billion won, representing 60.4% of last year’s annual total of 1.4209 trillion won. Total R&D spending before deducting government subsidies was 858.8 billion won.

The ratio of R&D expenses to revenue stood at 11.7%, up 1.0 percentage points from last year’s annual figure of 10.7%. SAMSUNG SDI CO.,LTD. is developing all-solid-state batteries, 46mm cylindrical batteries, lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, as well as high-safety prismatic batteries and products for energy storage systems (ESS).

The company has begun to moderate the pace of capital expenditures. On a consolidated basis for the first half of the year, acquisitions of tangible assets totaled 1.1259 trillion won, a 39.8% decrease from 1.8714 trillion won during the same period last year. Amid ongoing uncertainty in the electric vehicle market, the company is reviewing the efficiency of new investments and pushing forward with initiatives such as converting existing production lines for ESS use.

As of the end of June this year, the company had 12,763 employees in South Korea, with the average salary per employee for the first half of the year standing at 49 million won. Choi Ju-seon, CEO of SAMSUNG SDI CO.,LTD., received total compensation of 766 million won for the first half of the year, including a base salary of 652 million won and a bonus of 107 million won.