Seoul, April 7 (IANS). LG Electronics on Tuesday estimated its operating profit in the first quarter rose 33 percent from a year earlier due to the strong performance of the home appliance business.
Operating profit rose to 1.67 trillion won ($1.1 billion) from 1.25 trillion won in the period, the company said in a regulatory filing.
The company’s sales increased by 4.4 percent to 23.73 trillion won, which is the highest level ever for the first quarter.
Net profit figures have not been released yet. The company will release its final earnings report at the end of this month.
LG Electronics suffered an operating loss of 109 billion won last quarter (Q4), due to weak demand and one-time expenses related to the restructuring program.
The company said its Home Appliance Solutions division maintained good growth through strengthening of subscription business and focus on premium products.
The media and entertainment business also returned to profit after recovering from last quarter’s loss, which was contributed by the company’s cost reduction efforts.
Profits in the vehicle solutions business have also improved compared to last year, although the company did not share detailed figures. The segment also benefited from the weakening of the South Korean currency (won), as most of its customers are overseas.
However, the eco solutions business saw a decline in sales and profits due to market uncertainties. The company said that it will focus on meeting the demand related to Artificial Intelligence (AI) data centers.
The company said it will continue to cut costs for the rest of 2026 to deal with rising raw material prices.
The company also said that it will increase focus on future growth engines such as home robots and their connected devices.
“Amid factors such as war in the Middle East, global economic instability, and rising costs of raw materials and logistics, LG Electronics plans to take flexible and proactive measures to mitigate their impact,” the company said in a release.
–IANS
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