By Kwanwoo Jun

Samsung SDI Co.'s second-quarter net profit plunged 70% compared with the same period a year earlier largely due to weaker battery demand because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Net profit was 47.70 billion Korean won ($39.9 million), the South Korean battery maker said Tuesday. That was below a FactSet consensus forecast for net profit of KRW88.30 billion.

Second-quarter revenue rose 6.4% to KRW2.559 trillion, while operating profit dropped 34% to KRW103.81 billion.

Samsung SDI said sales of electric-vehicle batteries remained sluggish due to pandemic-suppressed demand in the second quarter but the company forecasts demand will increase later this year on policy support for electric vehicles in Europe and brisk sales of energy-storage-system units overseas.

Samsung SDI shares are 2.9% higher after the earnings report. 



  Write to Kwanwoo Jun at kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com