2025-01-06
(Bloomberg, Jan. 06, 2025)
Korea Zinc Co., the world’s largest smelter of the metal, warned of atough outlook as processing fees languish, costs rise, and a drawn-outbattle for control of the company challenges both management and staff .
The business outlook for 2025 looks “very bad,” Korea Zinc said in astatement. Increased competition for ore from Chinese smelters hassignifi cantly reduced the treatment charges that miners pay smelters forprocessing, it said on Sunday, while also fl agging the challenge of higherelectricity costs.
Korea Zinc is at the center of a protracted takeover tussle, with thecompany’s largest shareholder, Young Poong Corp., teaming up withprivate equity fi rm MBK Partners Ltd. last September to launch a hostilebid. The struggle has roiled the smelter’s share price, been a majortalking point in corporate South Korea, and comes at a time whenprocessors are battling low fees.
The takeover threat “has put the management and employees of Korea Zinc on the line to overcome the crisis,” the company said.
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