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| LG Energy Solution headquarters at the LG Twin Towers on Yeouido, Seoul / Courtesy of LG Group |
LG Energy Solution (LGES), a South Korean major secondary battery maker, on Monday reported a weaker-than-expected operating profit for the fourth quarter of last year, though its 2022 income surpassed the 1 trillion won ($801.92 million) mark for the first time.
Operating profit for the October-December period jumped 213.6 percent year-on-year to 237.4 billion won, the company said in a regulatory filing.
Sales jumped 92.3 percent year-on-year to 8.54 trillion won, the largest quarterly figure. The previous record was set a year earlier when the company reported a 7.65 trillion won in sales.
But the performance fell behind market expectations amid a stronger Korean currency and bonus payments.
The average estimate of operating income by analysts stood at 354.4 billion won, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency.
For all of 2022, LGES' operating profit jumped 57.9 percent year-on-year to a record high of 1.21 trillion on solid demand for electric vehicle (EV) batteries.
Sales surged 43.4 percent year-on-year to 25.6 trillion won last year, also the largest ever figure, the report showed.
Earlier, the company revised up its revenue forecast for 2022 to 25 trillion won, from the last estimate of 22 trillion won, given the growing EV demand, especially from the United States.
The company is expected to release its final earnings report later this month. LGES was launched in December 2020 as LG Chem announced the spin off of its Energy Solution business.
Shares in LGES closed up 4.5 percent to 464,000 won on the Seoul bourse Monday, outperforming the broader KOSPI's 2.63 percent gain. The earnings guidance was released after the market closed. (Yonhap)
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