LG Electronics' profit more than quadruples on home appliances, automotive parts

Seoul, Jan 25 (IANS) LG Electronics said on Thursday that its fourth-quarter operating profit more than quadrupled from a year earlier on robust sales of home appliances and automotive parts.

South Korea's leading electronics company said in a regulatory filing that operating income for the October-December period came to 313.1 billion won ($234.3 million) on a consolidated basis, sharply up from 69.3 billion won a year ago.

The operating profit was 27 percent lower than the average estimate, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency.

Net loss reached 76.4 billion won, narrowing from a deficit of 212.4 billion won the previous year.

Its sales rose 5.7 percent on-year to 23.1 trillion won.

For all of 2023, its sales edged up 0.9 percent on-year to a record 84.2 trillion won, with its operating profit reaching 3.5 trillion won. Its annual sales hit a record high for the third consecutive year.

LG Electronics said its thriving home appliances and automotive parts businesses contributed to the strong bottom line last year.

The combined sales of the company's two leading business divisions amounted to 40 trillion won in 2023, up from 18 trillion won tallied eight years ago.

The two sectors accounted for a combined 47.8 percent of the company's consolidated earnings, compared with 32.5 percent eight years ago.

LG Electronics said its other business-to-business sector and platform-based service business, including air solutions businesses and content subscription service, also lent support to the strong operating profit.

LG Electronics' conventional home appliance business logged yearly sales of 30.1 trillion won, recording positive growth for eight straight years. The sector's operating profit surged 76 percent on-year to 2 trillion won.

The company earned 14.2 trillion won in sales and 362.4 billion won in operating profit from its TV business.

Its vehicle components business, one of LG Electronics' future growth drivers, posted a record 10.1 trillion won in sales and 133.4 billion won in operating profit.

Shares of LG Electronics rose 0.11 percent to 94,000 won Thursday, outperforming the broader KOSPI's 0.03 percent gain. The earnings report was released before the market closed.