Seoul: LG Electronics Inc. announced on Thursday a significant increase in its first-quarter net profit, recording a nearly 50 percent rise from the previous year, fueled by unprecedented quarterly sales figures.
According to Yonhap News Agency, LG Electronics reported a net profit of 875.6 billion won (US$612.4 million) for the January-March period, marking a 49.6 percent increase from 585.4 billion won in the same period last year. The company's revenue reached 22.73 trillion won, a 7.8 percent rise on a year-on-year basis and the highest ever recorded for a first quarter.
Despite the impressive net income figures, operating income saw a slight decline of 5.7 percent, totaling 1.25 trillion won compared to 1.33 trillion won a year ago. This figure was 5.4 percent lower than the average estimate from a Yonhap Infomax survey, though specific estimates for net profit were unavailable.
LG Electronics attributed its sustained sales growth to its strong performance in business-to-business sectors, particularly in electric vehicle components, subscriptions, and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) businesses. The vehicle component division achieved record-high first-quarter sales of 2.84 trillion won, along with an operating profit of 125.1 billion won. Meanwhile, the HVAC division reported sales of 3.05 trillion won and an operating profit of 406.7 billion won.
Combined, sales from both the vehicle component and HVAC divisions rose 12.3 percent in the first quarter compared to the previous year, and their operating income surged by 37.2 percent year-on-year. Additionally, the company's traditional home appliance business demonstrated solid performance, generating 6.7 trillion won in sales and 644.6 billion won in operating profit.
Looking ahead, LG Electronics anticipated that growing global trade tensions could increase market uncertainty and intensify competition. In response, the company plans to maintain its growth momentum by diversifying its home appliance lineup and expanding into new business offerings, such as subscription services, to meet evolving consumer demands.