LG Chem records 584% higher profit in Q1

LG Chem said on Wednesday that it has recorded 9.65 trillion won in revenue and 1.4 trillion won in operating income in the first quarter.

Operating income beat South Korea analysts’ consensus of 950 billion won by a large margin.

The company’s sales and operating income increased 43.4% and 584, respectively, from a year prior.

The figures are LG Chem’s highest quarterly performance to date.

The company’s petrochemical business contributed 4.34 trillion won in revenue and 983.3 billion won in sales.

Expanded spread and high demand from home appliance, medical and construction material sectors helped with the solid performance, LG Chem said.

The South Korean chemical giant said it expected high profitability through the second quarter from demand for carbon nanotube (CNT) and other high-value products.

The advanced material business recorded 1.17 trillion won in revenue and 88.3 billion won in sales.

Expanded production of cathode for batteries and engineering plastic helped the business’ performance, LG Chem said.

The company’s new cathode factory starting operation in the second quarter and expanded supply of OLED material is expected to help strong performances in the second quarter for the business as well, the firm said.

LG Chem’s bio-science business contributed 161.9 billion won in sales and 22.5 billion won in operating income.

LG Energy Solution, the company’s battery making subsidiary, contributed 4.25 trillion won in sales and 341.2 billion won in operating income.

Profitability was increased from improved yield rate and increased supply of batteries for electric chars, the company said.