SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Korea Bizwire) – LG Electronics Inc., South Korea’s leading home appliance maker, said Monday its operating profit likely more than quadrupled in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, helped by robust sales of home appliances and vehicle component solutions.
Operating profit for the three months ended in December soared to an estimated 312.5 billion won (US$237 million) from 69.3 billion won in the same period of 2022, the company said in a regulatory filing.
“Faced with a delayed recovery in market demand and tougher competition with rivals, the company achieved robust earnings in the existing home appliance and the new vehicle component solutions divisions,” the company said in a statement.
Sales rose 5.9 percent to an estimated 23.16 trillion won in the fourth quarter from 21.86 trillion won a year ago.
For the whole of 2023, its estimated operating income fell 0.1 percent to 3.548 trillion won from 3.551 trillion won in the previous year.
Sales are estimated to decline 1 percent to 84.28 trillion won from 83.47 trillion won during the same period.
Of the 84.28 trillion won in sales, the company earned 30 trillion won in the home appliance business, which serves as a “cash cow,” last year and 10 trillion won in the vehicle component solutions business, regarded as a “new growth driver” in the upcoming era of electric vehicles, the statement said.
The company’s finalized earnings results, including net income, for 2023 will be released later this month.
(Yonhap)