(2nd LD) Samsung SDI swings to loss in Q4 on reduced equity gains

(ATTN: UPDATES with comments by company official and background in paras 3-4)

SEOUL, Jan. 30 (Yonhap) -- Samsung SDI Co., a South Korean manufacturer of electric vehicle and smartphone batteries, said Thursday that it swung to a loss in the fourth quarter from a year earlier on reduced gains from equity ties with an affiliate.

For the three months that ended Dec. 31, the company shifted to a net loss of 33.1 billion won (US$27.9 million) from a net profit of 266 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.

A company spokesman said the net result can be pinned on reduced gains from its stake in Samsung Display Co., a major South Korean display panel maker.

Samsung SDI holds a 15.2 percent stake in Samsung Display.

Samsung SDI posted an operating profit of 20 billion won in the fourth quarter, down 91.9 percent from a year ago. Sales rose 13.8 percent on-year to 2.82 trillion won from 2.47 trillion won in 2018.

For the whole of 2019, its net profit fell to 402 billion won from 745 billion won in the previous year.

entropy@yna.co.kr
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