이 기사는 2021년 11월 26일 08시19분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

Hyundai Oilbank, the refinery unit of South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, plans to file for an initial public offering in December, with a target of listing in the first half of 2022, as it seeks to embrace eco-friendly hydrogen energy business and its financial performance has rebounded this year.

The move would come four months after the refiner named KB Securities, NH Investment & Securities and Credit Suisse as its lead underwriters for the planned IPO in August.

Hyundai Oilbank is expected to get the green light from the Korea Exchange as soon as February next year given that it normally takes two months, or 45 business days, for review.

This means the refiner will join a crowded IPO pipeline in the first half of 2022, with candidates including battery maker LG Energy Solution, SM Line, Hyundai Engineering and car-sharing unicorn startup SoCar.

The refinery business is the company’s mainstay, contributing nearly 85% to its total revenue. Hyundai Oilbank holds a roughly 20.9% share in the domestic light oil market. Comparable companies include SK Innovation, S-Oil and GS Caltex.

Reliance on fossil fuels has been cited as one of the factors that could limit Hyundai Oilbank’s future growth as the transition to zero carbon accelerates, prompting the company to expand into new business areas.

In March this year, Hyundai Oilbank announced a plan to reduce its revenue reliance on the refining business to 45% by 2030 and instead expand profits from future growth drivers, including low-carbon blue hydrogen, white biotechnology and eco-friendly chemical materials. Hyundai Oilbank is the only refiner in the country to have such a transition plan.

It will be difficult for Hyundai Oilbank to make visible progress by the first half of next year. But its equity story, focused on growth in hydrogen energy, could help to increase its growth prospects.

Hyundai Oilbank will set up the infrastructure to capture and utilize carbon dioxide emitted during hydrogen generation processes. It also plans to develop fuel cell separators for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and roll out products in 2023.

In April this year, Hyundai Oilbank teamed up with hydrogen supplier Air Products to work together to produce hydrogen from crude oil byproducts and natural gas. It also announced a partnership with Korea South-East Power in May to enter the hydrogen power generation market.

Hyundai Oilbank first attempted to go public in 2012 but failed due to a slump in oil prices. Another IPO attempt was also pulled due to accounting issues in 2017.

In 2019 Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings, the refiner’s parent company, sold a partial stake in Hyundai Oilbank to Saudi’s Aramco in a deal that valued the company at roughly 8.09 trillion won. Given this latest valuation, Hyundai Oilbank will be seeking a valuation above 10 trillion won in the IPO, industry watchers said.

Hyundai Oilbank recorded revenue of 13.7 trillion won in 2020, down by 35.2% from 21.1 trillion won a year ago. It also swung to an operating loss of 593.3 billion won from a 522 billion won operating profit in the same period. However, its financial results have rebounded this year, with revenue and operating profit rising to 14.7 billion won and 851.6 billion won, respectively, in the first three quarters of 2021. (Reporting by Chan-mi Oh)