LG Chem slashes battery sales goal in 2020

LG Chem has cut its sales KRW 15 trillion target for batteries this year by around 10-15% on account of the impact of the coronavirus, according to the company during an earnings report on April 28. The company will also be slashing CAPEX to around KRW 5 trillion from the initially envisioned KRW 6 trillion.

But among the amount, the firm decided to keep unchanged the KRW 3 trillion allotted for battery-related facilities. This will allow LG Chem to increase its annual production volume to 120GWh in 2021, and 100GWh by the end of this year.

In the first quarter of this year, the company recorded an operating profit of KRW 236.5 billion to beat the market consensus of KRW 142.4 billion. This was mostly the result of cost-cutting measures coupled with a decline in crude oil prices, according to company executives.

In the latter half of this year, the company plans to raise KRW 600 billion won. In the first half, it secured KRW 3.4 trillion from issuing corporate bonds and so-called 'green loans.'

In the first quarter, LG Chem posted sales of KRW 7.11 trillion to see a 7.5% rise on-year, while operating profit fell 15.9% to KRW 236.5 billion. On quarter, sales fell 4.5%, while operating profit swung to the black.

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