LG Innotek sees surge in profit in Q2

By Kim Yoo-chul

LG Innotek reported soaring profits during the second quarter of this year as demand surged for its flagship products such as camera modules for smartphones.

In a statement released Wednesday, the LG components affiliate said its second-quarter operating profit came to 42.9 billion won for three months ended June 30, up 129 percent, year-on-year. Sales during the latest quarter were 1.54 trillion won, an increase of 1.2 percent from a year ago. LG Innotek announced its second-quarter earnings reports on a parental basis.

“Demand for smartphone camera modules and package substrate for semiconductors and displays including OLEDs remained strong during the April-June period despite unfavorable business conditions,” company spokeswoman Lee Na-ri said.

Regarding the specifics of its camera module business, Lee said the company can't comment on anything regarding its clients. According to Apple's suppliers list, LG Innotek's plants in Korea have done work for the Cupertino-headquartered tech giant. Innotek supplies its camera modules for various iPhone 11 models and it's expected that this will extend through to iPhone 12 models as well.

Apple has a long and established partnership with LG Group and its tech affiliates including LG Innotek, LG Display and LG Electronics. It was told that Apple was planning to invest in a new 3D sensing camera module for its next iPhone and iPad Pro.

With the second-quarter announcement, LG Innotek also said it will invest 127.4 billion won to expand its package substrate capacity at its plant in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, amid increasing demand for semiconductor package substrate. “The investment will go through June 30 next year from July 22 this year and we are confident the plan will provide some fresh impetus in terms of contributing to the regional economy,” Lee said.