Battery company LG Energy Solution Q3 profit rises 40% on increased US output

SOUTH Korean battery company LG Energy Solution (LGES) on Wednesday (Oct 25) posted a 40 per cent rise in quarterly profit, helped by increased output from its US joint venture factory with General Motors (GM).

The company, which supplies Tesla, GM and other automakers, reported an operating profit of 731 billion won (S$742 million) for the July-September period, up from 522 billion won a year earlier.

That was in line with the company’s estimate of 731 billion won provided this month and above a 659 billion won average forecast by LSEG SmartEstimate, which is weighted towards forecasts from analysts who are more consistently accurate.

The company’s shares were down 3.7 per cent in morning trade, versus the benchmark Kospi’s 0.2 per cent fall.

September quarter revenue rose 7.5 per cent to 8.2 trillion won, LGES said in a regulatory filing.

LGES has benefited this year from US tax credits for electric vehicles (EV) under the Inflation Reduction Act, and the production ramp-up at its battery plant joint venture with GM, analysts said.

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However, GM said on Tuesday that it was slowing the launch of several EV models to cut costs and pulling back on EV product spending to put profits ahead of sales targets. REUTERS