Baek Byung-yeul is a journalist at The Korea Times focused on cultural content, including films and cultural events in South Korea. You can contact him at baekby@koreatimes.co.kr to share your insights.
Batteries energize LG Chem's 2020 earnings
By Baek Byung-yeul
By Baek Byung-yeul
LG Chem displayed stellar earnings performance in 2020, achieving record-high sales thanks to robust demand for its electric vehicle (EV) batteries, the company said Wednesday.
Sales increased 9.9 percent year-on-year to 30.57 trillion won ($27.65 billion) in 2020, while operating profit surged 185.1 percent to 2.35 trillion won in 2020, according to LG Chem. Fourth-quarter sales rose to a record-high 8.98 trillion won, while operating profit stood at 673.6 billion won for the final three months of 2020.
“Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, LG Chem posted over 30 trillion won in sales in 2020, which was a first and up 10 percent from a year ago,” Cha Dong-seok, chief financial officer at LG Chem, said. The company's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) came in at 4.6 trillion won. EBIDTA is an indicator of a company's profitability.
Its battery subsidiary, LG Energy Solution, managed to shift to the black, achieving an operating profit of 388.3 billion in 2020.
LG Chem revealed its 2021 sales target of 37.3 trillion won, up 24.1 percent from 2020.
“We will try to make the company rise to the next level this year by focusing on our main businesses, such as battery materials, sustainable solutions, materials for e-mobility and new drug developments,” the chief financial executive said.
The company expects its battery business will continue to grow with more countries adopting EVs. LG Chem added that its energy storage system business is also expected to see more than 50 percent growth in sales as an increasing number of countries are moving forward with initiatives to generate electricity using renewable energy resources.