Hanwha Solutions (009830.KS), which has faced fierce backlash since announcing a large-scale rights offering, unveiled a mid- to long-term roadmap to improve its financial structure and expand shareholder return policies without additional equity issuances through 2030.
"At least through 2030, we plan to gradually repay borrowings using cash generated from operating activities without any additional rights offerings, strengthening financial soundness and expanding shareholder return policies in line with business growth," Jeong Won-young, chief financial officer of Hanwha Solutions, said at an investor presentation held for retail investors at Korea Investment & Securities headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, on Thursday.
Hanwha Solutions repeatedly emphasized that it had pursued every feasible self-rescue measure over the past two years prior to the rights offering — including asset sales and hybrid bond issuances — and that its capacity for additional self-help measures is limited. The company previously raised approximately 1.6 trillion won ($1.2 billion) by selling affiliate stakes worth 1.057 trillion won, its Hanwha Savings Bank stake (178.5 billion won), employee housing land in Ulsan (160.2 billion won), renewable energy development assets (160 billion won), idle land in the Yeosu industrial complex (36 billion won), and its electric vehicle charging business (25 billion won). It also raised 700 billion won by issuing hybrid bonds (perpetual bonds) in the capital market.
Hanwha Solutions also addressed calls from some shareholders for a third-party allotment rights offering, saying it would be difficult to attract external investors in a timely manner given the company's current financial structure and business portfolio. Other affiliates within Hanwha Group have no business relevance to Hanwha Solutions, making it difficult for them to participate due to potential violations of the Fair Trade Act's prohibition on unfair support, concerns over breach of directors' duty of loyalty, and cross-shareholding restrictions related to ownership structure, the company explained.
Regarding the change in total authorized shares approved at the recent annual general meeting, Hanwha Solutions said the move reflected recent stock price volatility and an insufficient ceiling on authorized shares. The company added that its inability to provide information about the rights offering prior to the board resolution on February 26 was "due to regulatory constraints including fair disclosure obligations and concerns over the use of material nonpublic information."
Hanwha Solutions said it expects to return to profitability in the first quarter of this year, driven by its solar module sales business. Once its Cartersville cell factory begins mass production in the third quarter, the U.S. government's Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit is expected to apply across the value chain from the second half, leading to earnings improvement, the company projected.
