Good morning. Welcome to the POSCO International 2025 Q4 earnings call.

We will first have presentations from POSCO International, and then we will entertain questions. Those of you who have a question, please press the star key and number 1 on your phone.

Now we would like to begin the POSCO International 2025 Q4 earnings call. Good morning, this is Jeong In-cheol.

We will now begin the earnings call for POSCO International Q4 of 2025. You can find the earnings release file under the IR Reports tab on our official website, www.poscointl.com.

Today's earnings call is being held via conference call, and with participants joining us from both Korea and overseas, simultaneous English interpretation is being provided. In particular, starting from this quarter, to ensure that all stakeholders, including members of the press and retail investors, can listen to the conference in real time, we are live streaming via Microsoft Teams.

POSCO International will continue to work for more transparent and prompt communication with our stakeholders. Now let me introduce the executives present for today's conference call.

Our CFO, Jeong Gyeong-jin, head of Corporate Planning Group, is present today, along with Kim Do-gyun, head of Corporate Planning Division; Park Jeong-bin, head of Business Management Division; Kim Jong-gwi, head of Finance Division; Cho Jong-hwan, head of Hot Rolled and Steelmaking Division; and Im Seong-gyu, head of the Agro-Business Development Division. Also in attendance are head of Power Plant Operation Division, Kim Yoon-jung; head of Terminal Business Division, Kwon Cheol; head of LNG Business Division, Hwang Eui-yong; acting head of Power Business Development Division, Kim Dong-jin; head of E&P Business Division, Kim Dong-il; Senior Vice President of Low Carbon Energy Business Department, Kim Tae-ung; and director of Energy Business Operation Department, Lee Yoon-cheol.

Joining us on behalf of Kim Young-yeol, head of Mobility Business Division, is Yang Young-mo, Senior Vice President of Motor Core Sales Department. As for the agenda, we will have a 2025 business performance and 2026 outlook, which will be provided by the CFO, Jeong Gyeong-jin, after which I will present the overall 2025 earnings and key financial status.

Following that, the heads of each division will share their respective business performances and outlook. To begin with, we will hear the opening remarks from our CFO.

Good morning. I am Jeong Gyeong-jin, CFO and head of Corporate Planning Group at POSCO International.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the participants for joining our 2025 Q4 and full year earnings call despite your busy schedules. We would also like to thank you for your unwavering support and trust over the past year.

Year 2026 is the year of dynamism of the red horse, and we will show robust execution for even stronger performance. We would like to reflect upon performance of the past year, and also share with you strategies going forward, and also explore ways for further growth.

I would like to once again thank everyone for joining us despite their busy schedules, and I hope all the best and health for your endeavors and your families. Now I will briefly outline the company's key achievements in 2025 and our plans for 2026.

In 2025, the US-China trade dispute, the restructuring of the multilateral trade order, increasing protectionism, and persistent geopolitical risks led to increased volatility in energy raw materials and exchange rates, while global growth continued to stagnate, culminating in a year of severe uncertainty. Amidst this challenging environment, POSCO International focused on solidifying the profit base of our existing businesses while concentrating on establishing a foundation for mid-to-long-term growth revolving around energy and materials.

The key outcomes of these efforts can be summarized into the following four areas. First is the expansion of the value chain in our core businesses and securing future growth foundations.

By acquiring Indonesian palm oil company, procuring LNG dedicated vessels, and the completion of our motor core plant in Poland, we strengthened the competitiveness of our existing businesses, and at the same time, accelerated our entry into future growth sectors, including the Alaska LNG project and groundbreaking of a graphite mine in Tanzania. Second, the structural transition to growth in our energy business.

With the Phase 4 development of the Myanmar gas field and the production expansion at Senex, we reinforced a stable cash flow base. Furthermore, by constructing the Gwangyang No.

2 LNG Terminal and establishing a trading corporation in Singapore, we built a foundation for LNG value chain synergies across the entire group. Third is global expansion of our materials and mobility business.

By responding to external environmental changes such as CBAM and tariffs, we are redefining our global steel trading structure and creating high value-added demand. Also, by expanding our motor core production bases overseas to locations such as Mexico and Poland, we are progressively establishing a production system of 7.5 million units by 2030.

In addition, by beginning graphite mine development and investments for used battery recycling, we have actively pursued the diversification of our secondary battery raw material supply chain. Fourth is the improvement of our sustainable management fundamentals based on digital transformation, DX, finance, and ESG.

To build a data-driven decision-making system, we established a DX master plan and have commenced the execution of key tasks. Furthermore, through the disposal of non-core assets and asset streamlining, we secured ₩223 billion in cash liquidity, and in terms of profit and loss improvement, we also achieved significant results.

In 2026, by completing a management system that continuously strengthens future growth capabilities based on DX, and through internalization of sustainable management alongside mid-to-long-term growth, we will work to enhance shareholder and corporate value. In 2026, the company plans to further strengthen transparent communication.

With top management taking the lead, we will actively build on internal and external communication and transparently share the implementation status of our Value-up programs. While maintaining a shareholder return policy of around 50%, we are committed to faithfully fulfilling our promises to the market.

Furthermore, to further enhance corporate and pure holder value starting this year, we have carried out an organizational restructuring by integrating our IR and sustainability management units. In this decision, the valuable feedback provided by the investors played a significant role.

When financial performance and sustainability indicators are aligned, corporate risk decreases and the quality of growth improves. Based on this understanding, we have further strengthened professional expertise and maximized synergy through this reorganization.

Moving forward, regarding short-term results, mid-to-long-term value, risk management, and growth strategies, we will focus on communicating a single story with a single voice for the market. We ask for your continued interest and support as we challenge ourselves to make 2026 a year of proving plans through execution.

Next, Senior Vice President Jeong In-cheol and the executives in charge of each business will walk you through the 2025 performance by division, key business status, and this year's outlook, followed by a Q&A session. Thank you for your attention.

Thank you for the opening remarks from our CFO. Now I'll explain our full year and Q4 2025 results.

Please refer to page 4 on the presentation material. In 2025, the company's operating profit on a full year basis amounted to ₩1.1653 trillion.

On a YoY basis, this represents an increase of ₩48.4 billion, or roughly 4.3%, once again achieving record-high performance. If you look at the financial highlights by key business unit shown in the upper right-hand section, first, in the energy business unit, gas E&P business recorded revenue of ₩650.7 billion and operating profit of ₩356.1 billion.

LNG terminal and power generation business recorded revenue of ₩2.8923 trillion and operating profit of ₩172.1 billion. Subsidiaries, including Senex Energy, recorded sales of ₩450.8 billion and operating profit of ₩98.4 billion.

As a result, total operating profit from the energy business amounted to ₩626.6 billion, delivering stable performance that accounts for 54% of the company's total operating profit. Next is the material business unit.

In the steel business, sales reached ₩14.5465 trillion with operating profit of ₩237.4 billion. The materials and bio business recorded revenue of ₩8.8307 trillion and operating profit of ₩69.5 billion.

Subsidiaries, including Indonesian palm plantations, recorded sales of ₩5.0027 trillion and operating profit of ₩231.9 billion. Total operating profit from the material business amounted to ₩538.7 billion, accounting for 46% of company's total company-wide operating profit.

Together with the energy business, it forms one of the two core pillars of the company's earnings structure. If you look at the key reasons behind the changes in operating profit shown in the lower right-hand section, in the energy business, the increase in sales volume from the Myanmar gas field and impact from the threefold production increase at the Senex gas field in Australia contributed to the improvement in performance.

In the materials business, the effect of acquisition of a new palm oil company and foreign exchange gains driven by increased euro exchange gains in the steel trading segment were reflected into the results. Borrowing increased by approximately ₩180 billion year on year.

However, the net debt ratio declined by 3 percentage points, and EBITDA increased by 3.4% YoY, further recording ₩1.7 trillion, further strengthening our financial soundness. Next, I will move on to the detailed performance of the energy business.

Please refer to page 5. In 2025, the energy business maintained stable profitability supported by its value chain.

If you look at the table on the left-hand side, in the upstream Myanmar gas field, operating profit increased by ₩21.3 billion year on year, driven by higher sales volume. In the case of the Australian Senex gas field, as a result of the threefold production capacity expansion system completed at the end of the last year, both sales volume and operating profit increased significantly.

Sales increased by ₩123.9 billion YoY to ₩392.2 billion, and operating profit rose by ₩35.7 billion YoY to ₩75.3 billion. The table on the right-hand side shows the performance of the midstream and downstream.

In the midstream terminal business, operating profit for the tank No. 6, the operation period was extended, operating profit increased by ₩1.7 billion year on year.

On the other hand, in the power generation business, both the SMP and utilization rate declined significantly, and operating profit also decreased accordingly. Please refer to page 6.

Now we are moving on to material business. In 2025, despite challenging market conditions, including a global economic slowdown and deterioration in the raw material market conditions, profit increased YoY.

As shown in the table on the left-hand side, while sales from steel trading declined YoY, profits increased by approximately 7% YoY, driven by the expansion of new long-distance sales and the impact of increased euro foreign exchange gains. In the case of materials and bio business, despite deteriorating global market conditions and protectionist trend, performance was maintained at a level comparable to the previous year.

The table in the upper right-hand section shows the performance of the EV motor core business. Driven by diversification of the sales mix with a focus on hybrid vehicles and cost improvements, profits improved significantly on a YoY basis, recording ₩19.2 billion.

The palm oil business shown in the lower right-hand section recorded operating profit on a YoY basis increase of 23% to ₩101 billion, supported by strong crude oil market conditions. Next, I will move on to the status of the key developments by business units and forecast for 2026.

Please refer to page 8 of the presentation material. First, for the energy upstream, head of the E&P Business Division, Dong-il Kim, will provide an overview.

Good morning. I am Kim Dong-il, head of E&P Business Division.

Please look at the left side of the page. Last year in upstream, we pursued development projects to expand our production.

In the Myanmar gas field, the Phase 4 development to produce additional reserves discovered in both new and existing fields is going smoothly according to plan, with a completion rate of 32%. At Senex in Australia, we have completed a production system three times larger than acquisition, and all new facilities are currently in normal operation, and we are producing LNG in a phased manner.

Next, on the right side is a 2026 forecast. Because of the nine-day shutdown, there is going to be a reduction in sales.

However, with the production expansion effect of Senex, we expect overall sales from upstream assets to increase. In addition, to secure additional growth engines, we are also actively reviewing the acquisition of new assets and will focus on building an optimized portfolio.

These efforts are currently concentrated in the US and Southeast Asia. For the US, we aim to sign the contract within the first half of this year, and for Southeast Asia, by the end of the year.

Next, on the midstream sector, Kwon Cheol, head of Terminal Business Division, will present. Good morning.

I'm Kwon Cheol, head of Terminal Business Division. For terminal business, we focused on securing growth engines.

To this end, the construction of the new No. 7 and 8 tanks at Gwangyang LNG Terminal 2 is underway, with a completion rate of over 80% as of the end of the last year.

As you can see on the right-hand side, in 2026, we plan to successfully complete all construction work for the No. 7 and 8 LNG storage tanks.

LNG storage and supply capacity is supposed to grow significantly. After the tanks are complete, we are going to build operation plans and connection.

Next, we will be hearing from Hwang Eui-yong, head of LNG Business Division. Good morning.

I am Hwang Eui-yong, head of LNG Business Division. As you can see in the second bullet point on the left, last year, we strengthened our business competitiveness by introducing the company's first LNG dedicated vessels and establishing an LNG trading corporation in Singapore.

Confirming our participation in Alaska LNG project is also one of our key achievements. As you may well know, we are pursuing a contract for 1 million tons per year.

We are also going to pursue the main contract for the Alaska LNG project, and we are also going to develop new business areas. For early establishment of the business, we are also going to quickly build a profit stream.

Next, for energy downstream business, over to Power Business Division acting head Kim Dong-jin. Good morning.

I'm Kim Dong-jin, acting head of Power Business Development Division. I will now discuss the progress and this year's plan for energy downstream sector.

First, if you look at the left bullet point on the left, in 2025, we obtained the permit for the Gwangyang District Integrated Energy Project, steadily preparing for the expansion of our energy value chain and the transition into a future energy business. On the right-hand side, our plans for 2026.

This year, along with the Gwangyang District Integrated Energy Project, our key task is to secure new power generation business rights both domestically and abroad, such as the Quỳnh Lập power project currently underway in Vietnam. This will provide the basis for our exploration of future growth engines, and also solidifying the portfolio of power generation.

Next, Senior Vice President Yang Young-mo of the Motor Core Sales Department.

Yes, hello. As introduced, I am Yang Young-mo.

Please refer to page 10. In 2025, our company focused on securing future demand in mobility business based on the expansion of the value chain.

We completed the construction of overseas production subsidiaries, including the second plant in Mexico and new plant in Poland, and promoted an increase in EV motor core market share through expansion of global production infrastructure. In the rare earth business, we established the foundation for building a local production complex in the United States to diversify the supply chain.

To this end, we signed a joint venture MOU with ReElement, a US-based separation and refining company, and also completed an agreement on key terms of the offtake contract. Please refer to 2026 forecast shown in the upper right-hand section.

First, with respect to motor core, we will view this period as a rapid industrial transition toward new mobility markets as an opportunity for transformation, and concentrate all our capabilities on maximizing order intake. From the perspective of process stabilization, we will strictly manage mass production projects with focus on overseas production subsidiaries so that defect rates do not exceed 3% to 5%.

In addition, to enhance productivity, we will focus on developing low-cost manufacturing technology, such as room temperature bonding technology, and establish a system that manages the efficient production of high-quality products. Next, with respect to rare earth and permanent magnets, we are preparing to enter the value chain in a phased manner based on promising partnerships.

First, for rare earth, we are strengthening the foundation for securing raw materials centered in Southeast Asia while pursuing investment in a separation and refining plants with local partners in the United States. In connection with this, for permanent magnets, with the goal of entering US market, we will aim on production base through local investment with manufacturers.

Next, for head of the palm business, Agro-Development Division, Seong-gyu Im will present with the overview. Yes, please refer to the next left-hand side of the page.

In addition to our existing PT BIA plantation, last year, we successfully completed the acquisition of PT PAR, a high-quality palm oil business in Indonesia. This acquisition goes beyond a simple expansion of business scale and is highly meaningful in that it completed the entire palm value chain spanning from seeds, plantations, milling, and refining.

In addition, by establishing a fully integrated business structure linking research, training, and sales functions, we have secured competitiveness across the palm business. In particular, the midstream business as well, we have laid the foundation for future business expansion through the completion of the refining subsidiary.

Based on these achievements, this year, we will focus on Value-up initiatives that actively leverage the assets and capabilities we have secured in order to elevate the fundamental value and the business to the next level. Specifically, through PMI with PT PAR, we will seek to materialize the outcomes of value chain integration at an early stage.

In addition, based on the stable procurement of feedstock for refined palm oil, we will promote the stabilization of refining operations and further build the foundation for entry into the biofuel business. Furthermore, leveraging our integrated assets and operational capabilities, we will build a premium palm brand and continuously strengthen our positioning and brand value as a leading palm business group in the industry.

This concludes my remarks, and I will now pass it on to the 2026 management strategy to the head of Corporate Planning Office, Dong-gyun Kim. Please refer to page 12.

Hello, as introduced, I'm Dong-gyun Kim. From now, I will outline the company's management strategy for 2026.

In 2026, POSCO International aims to make it a year of stepping, and we do believe that we have established strong presence, and we are planning to step up as a true global platform player. The platform player means that our company will serve as a platform to have more engagement with the overall markets globally, have more opportunities and business opportunities so that we could drive further growth.

In order to achieve this goal, BX and EX are the two main pillars we are focusing on. BX for steels, we do expect that oversupply issue will continue, and trade issue and the supply chain reshaping moving away from China, we do expect there will be a significant changes into overall landscape.

We do believe that this will present for us, as a trading company, more opportunities. POSCO International is the company that is most well positioned to be able to deal with such challenges.

For mobility, we have the steel plates from POSCO, and the production technology, and also the sales and the marketing capabilities coming all together, which will give us good competitiveness. The global hub and the packaging and then marketing network that we have, we will be fully leveraging for our further competitiveness.

In terms of supply chain, as we are in a very critical moment moving away from China, we have established strong partnerships and have a long-lasting partnership in refining, separation for rare earth material, and also we have entered into the overall value chain spanning from research to production. For palm business, we did go into details before, and just a little bit to add on that is we're not looking at simply as just operation of plantations, but in the near future, when there is strengthening of ESG regulations, the palm plantation produced biofuels will become eco-friendly material with premium, we do believe that this will be a future growth engine.

For energy EX, we did explain in detail in the previous part of the presentation. As well known, POSCO International, through the development of the Myanmar gas field, as a operator of a good that base project, we have the track record of being able to do the project in full cycle.

CCS and the thermal heating and the related technology are promising areas that we continue to look for opportunities into. As LNG becomes more commoditized, we do believe that trading will present us with opportunities to get further profit.

As we have captive from the company inside, and as we have additional opportunities, we do believe that we are positioned well to be able to gain the optimal arbitrage. We have established the subsidiary in Singapore to further drive this business.

For the power generation business, we are going to focus more on the development of the technology and the production sites, and we are going to also go on the global RPP projects after the M&A opportunities. We will look at different levels of integration and synergy.

We have a new energy division, and it will be covering the mid to downstream to maximize the synergy effect. Such transition through AX, DX is something that could be used as tools to drive this growth, we will actively leverage that.

ESG, in order to have sustainable growth of the company, is a prerequisite. Also, ESG, once standards are established, we actually believe that we will be creating entry barriers to build a strong presence.

Thank you. Thank you for the presentation.

Now, Operator, we can begin with the Q&A session. For your reference, in order to ensure that all participants have an equal opportunity to ask questions, we kindly ask that you keep your questions brief and limit them to one or two questions.

Please proceed with the Q&A.

We'd like to begin the Q&A session. If anyone has a question, please press the star key and number 1 on your phone.

To cancel your question, press the star key and number 2. The first question will be from IBK Investment & Securities, Mr.

Lee Dong-wook. Please ask your question.

The first time I'm joining on this call. My name is Lee Dong-wook from IBK Investment & Securities.

Thank you for the opportunity. I have three questions.

First is the palm yield is quite strong, and palm planting and plasma plan, could you please share your plans on that? Also, could you also answer in conjunction with PT Agro?

Second of all, the palm companies are actively trying to acquire data centers, and I believe that that would be a very strong endeavor in terms of platform. Do you have any plans for that area?

Also, there is a question about refining margin. The refining margins prospect are not very bright, I would like to have some guidance on the profitability of establishing the JV.

My name is Im Seong-gyu. I'd like to answer.

PT BIA about the palm oil per hectare, we have around 8 tons, and so this would be top of the market. This production volume actually fluctuates based on the food and how much is planted.

We have replanting plans, and of course, the farm doesn't have uniform planting across its whole acreage, and we have to have solid replanting plans. It's very important what kinds of seeds that we plant.

Prime Agro Resources that we have acquired includes the top two seed companies in Indonesia. In terms of Indonesian seed market share, they are the top two companies, we are going to leverage that strength for our replanting plans.

We are also planning to enhance use of technology to increase our production. Second of all, some companies like IOI are advancing into the data center business.

That kind of transition is being very much in evidence in Malaysia. However, in Indonesia, there are such narratives being suggested.

However, it's not really being put into practice because there's the real estate prices in Indonesia are going up, and also a low performance land. There are some businesses that are trying to move them into more eco-friendly businesses, and that would also impact the palm oil business.

However, this trend is not yet quite prominent in Indonesia, and we are basically going to focus on palm oil business. In the long term, we would look at our excess land and review possibility of using that land for that purpose, but we don't have specific plans as of now.

Third of all, about the refining entity, across the entire value chain, this refining entity was understood as a node in the value chain which would add quite a lot of added value in the past. The CPO prices that are used for that refining entity would determine the margins of the refining company.

Of course, the CPO price closely relates to the export price, and the government policies for the export tax would also impact the margins very much. To safeguard the margin in general, the refining margins have to be closely managed.

If there's low margin, then a lot of margin would be coming from the upstream. However, if there are adverse effects of taxation, then export will have to absorb that kind of margin.

We're not just looking only at the margins of the refining company, but we also have to look at the balance between either end of the value chain. We're just regarding this as one of the tools that we have at our disposal.

Thank you. I kindly ask for you to keep your questions succinct and only up to two questions.

The next question will be from Mirae Asset Securities, Jae-hyun Ryu. Please ask your question.

Yes, thank you. I would like to know a little bit more about the timeline and details for Alaska.

Saying the SPA and such are way down the timeline, I think I would like to know more details in terms of the investment required, the timeline for that, the investment structure, the equity structure. If you could provide some overview and details of that, that would be much appreciated.

The LNG terminal, the utilization rate is not that high, and it is going to be completed in terms of construction. Is there a long-term strategy to increase the utilization rate?

Yes, thank you for the question. With regards to Alaska, Eui-yong Hwang from the LNG Business Division will answer, and for the terminal-related question, head of the Terminal Business, Mr.

Kwon Cheol, will answer. For Alaska LNG, allow me to provide an answer.

The timeline for Alaska LNG, for the first phase, as you probably well know, the pipeline crossing Alaska, we have to have FID decided. The original plan was for the FID to be done at the end of December, but it seems to be slightly delayed.

The reason behind that is, as we gather our side of the information, is in order to do the FID, the feedgas from the gas pipes, the developer needs to have the purchase contracts signed, and the purchase contracts have to be also supplied as the demand contracts, sales contracts as well. That is currently underway.

The feedgas contract, as you well know, they are Prudhoe Bay and Point Thomson. Prudhoe Bay, the gas field, ExxonMobil and Hilcorp are the major shareholders.

For under RHOA, head of agreement, the main conditions, price, the main terms have been determined. It's not the main contract signed yet, but that's the progress so far.

In terms of the sales contract, the Alaska government, there is a distributor, ENSTAR, and it was announced that they have signed an LOI. Previously FID planned for January has been pushed back to March.

The pipeline FID once completed, after a year from that, there will be liquefied plant planned. First, the pipeline FID, the next timeline, I think we can try to refer from that.

For the Alaska project, we have made investments into the project. The investment that we have already made, the amount, isn't really full-fledged investment into the project yet, but more for the steel supply and HOA to there is minor share that we acquired to secure such contracts.

It's not yet that we are a major part of the project development at this phase. Thank you for that answer.

Moving on to the next question. Yes, I am Kwon Cheol from the terminal business.

With regards to utilization rate decrease in 2024 compared to 2024 and 2025 is because there was maintenance for securing the maintenance, safety, and stability. External factors excluding the weather and such, if we look at the effective utilization rate, it is above 95%.

Also, tank lease, we are maintaining a rate of over 100%. The terminal utilization rate does not have a significant impact on the operating profit or sales at this moment.

Thank you.

Thank you so much for that answer. We'll take the next question.

There are no questions lined up. If you have a question, please press the star key and number 1 on your phone.

The next question will be from Samsung Securities, Baek Jae-seung. Please ask your question.

Good morning. I'm Baek from Samsung Securities.

I have two questions. In Q4 performance, at the end of last year, Indonesian palm oil acquisition, how much was it incorporated into the OP?

In 2026, what is your expectation on the operating profit coming from the palm business? Also, in 2025, looking at the entire capex and the 2026 expected capex, and how it's going to be broken down in 2026?

Thank you for that question. Regarding the operating profit of palm business, we will have Mr.

Im Seong-gyu from Agro-Business Development Division, and regarding the capex question, will be hearing from Senior Vice President Jeong In-cheol of IR. My name is Im Seong-gyu.

I'm the head of the Agro-Business Development. Since we have acquired the company at the end of last year, it's only been incorporated into the operating profit for about one to two months.

We were looking at around ₩20 billion in terms of impacting the operating profit. In 2026, our expectation for its operating profit will be around $170 million.

My name is Jeong In-cheol. I'm SVP of IR.

We'd like to share our mid-term investment plans. In the past, there are some areas where we had not paid much attention to, where we had shown leadership, and we are looking forward to around ₩3.2 trillion for 2025, '26, and '27.

If we find something that is better than what we expected, we were actually able to make that discovery, and the acquisition price of the Indonesian palm oil company was a little higher than expected. However, it didn't really touch our plans of ₩3.2 trillion.

Last year, we were expecting around ₩1.3 trillion in capex, but we were able to actually execute around ₩1.5 trillion. This is mostly within range of our plans.

For our future capex execution, probably we're going to maintain higher a chunk in energy, and around at least 60% of our capex should be going into energy business. The acquisitions that we are planning for this year, especially in North America, might impact our plans.

However, we are looking at a period of three years, there's not going to be much of a large change to our plans, and our EBITDA is amounting to about ₩1.7 trillion on a yearly basis, and it will probably be well within that range. Thank you.

Yes, thank you for the answer. We'll move on to the next question.

The next question will be from KB Securities, Kang Eun-kyung. Please go ahead with your question.

Yes, thank you. This is Kang Eun-kyung from KB Securities.

Thank you for the opportunity to ask questions. I would like to ask about the EV motor core.

The sales guidance, you did mention that it is going to increase by a certain percentage. I would like to know on how you're looking at the profit levels.

The Mexico and the Poland plant, I think there will be increased burden for fixed costs, is there a target in terms of profit levels that the company is looking at? Yes.

For the EV motor core, Senior VP Yang Young-mo from the Mobility Business Department will answer. Yes, for the EV motor core, I think we could differentiate domestic and the overseas.

I think domestically, we have made a successful transition to record profit, and we expect this trend to continue this year. In the case of Mexico, there has been some changes on the landscape, and there have been some challenges.

Of course, in terms of the volume increasing by 33%, that is going to be quite likely, but depending on the negotiations on the compensation, the size of the profit will be determined accordingly. For Poland, the new plant was completed in construction as of October 1st last year, and we will start production as of January, this year will be challenging, but from next year, will we have increased volume, and we expect to be able to turn into profit from that period.

Thank you. Thank you for the question.

We'd like to take the next question. The next question will be from Meritz Securities, Moon Kyeong-won.

Please ask your question. Good morning.

My name is Moon Kyeong-won from Meritz Securities. I have two questions.

One is about the slides. Senex sales expectations were 3.5 to 4.5 Bcf, and based on the capacity expansion plan, the sales expectations, sales forecast should be higher.

Have there been any changes made to the plans? Second of all, the cogeneration power plant plans that were addressed in the presentation, what would be the size or the size of that plan in terms of megawatt hours?

Senex sales, we will have Mr. Kim Dong-il answering from the E&P Business Division, and for the cogeneration, we'll be sharing from Kim Dong-jin, Power Business Development.

Regarding Senex, threefold production capacity was built at the end of last year. However, there was a compensation negotiation that was delayed with then that negotiation took place with the land owner.

We're not really expecting a significant growth in the production. However, the negotiation went smoothly at the end of last year and was completed successfully at the last year, we will be able to meet our production volume by the end of this year, targets by the end of this year.

About the Gwangyang cogeneration plant, that plan is actually named Gwangyang District Integrated Energy Project. This is based on cogeneration, where power and heat is going to be directly supplied to the offtakers, and that would be 5 million megawatt.

Thank you.

Thank you for the answer. Moving on to the next question.

The next question is from Daiwa Securities, Won Sang-mok. Please go ahead with your question.

Yes, thank you. Can you hear me well?

Yes, this is from Daiwa Securities. I congratulate you on your good performance.

With regards to rare earth value chain, from the performance, when will it be reflected into our financial numbers? Maybe I missed it, but when SVP Jeong talked about it, the acquisition of the US assets, is there an update on the timeline?

Thank you. Yes, thank you for the question.

With regards to the rare earth material, Yang Young-mo from the Mobility Business Division will answer, and we will hear from the preliminary division from Jeong for the US asset acquisition. Yes, we do believe that from this year, as sales take off, there will be better connection and reflection into our operating profit.

With Albert and the localization after mass production, it will be coming into numbers after 2027. We are pursuing different cooperation and such opportunities.

It's difficult to disclose the details at this point in time, but we do expect that a lot will materialize this year. Moving on to E&P, the business asset acquisition.

North American asset acquisition review has been ongoing since last year, and we have been carrying out negotiations with a lot of different assets, but we were selected as preferred negotiators and such to certain, but it has not been fulfilled as contracts, unfortunately. We are going through the process of negotiations currently, and some we are going through internal review process in Q1, and we plan to finish a contract in Q2 so that we finish the contract completely by the end of this year.

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About North American upstream assets, you talked about investment plans, the size of that investment and the location of where the investment will be made, could you share more details in that regard? Thank you.

Regarding the location for liquefaction, a terminal are very much concentrated in the Bay of Mexico. We are also looking at mid-continent area like Oklahoma and also Louisiana.

We're looking at many different asset sizes to invest in. However, on the group level, our investments will amount to within 1 billion.

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