As demand for electric vehicles increases, strong battery makers are seeing the improved performance, with South Korean battery giant LG New Energy’s sales and operating profit expected to soar in the first quarter of this year.
LG New Energy said on Friday local time that the company’s sales for the first quarter of this year are expected to reach 8.74 trillion won (currently about RMB 45.623 billion), a year-on-year jump of 101.4%.
In addition, LG New Energy expects operating profit for the first quarter to rise to 633.2 billion won (currently about RMB 3.305 billion), up 144.6 percent year-on-year.
LG New Energy’s projected operating profit exceeded analysts’ expectations, beating the average estimate of several analysts by 26.8%.
LG New Energy’s previous earnings report showed the company’s 2022 revenue at 25.6 trillion won and operating profit at 1.2 trillion won. LG New Energy’s projected operating profit of 633.2 billion won for the first quarter is already half of last year’s full-year operating profit and is expected to increase significantly in 2023.
When LG New Energy released its earnings report on Jan. 27 to disclose its results for the fourth quarter and full year last year, it set a revenue target of 25-30% year-over-year growth for this year, and 101.4 percent year-over-year growth in the first quarter will also help them achieve their full-year revenue growth target.
