Record First Half Performance... LG Saenghwal Geongang Achieves 4.0581 Trillion KRW in Sales and 706.3 Billion KRW in Operating Profit

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] LG Household & Health Care achieved its highest-ever first half performance.

LG Household & Health Care announced on the 22nd that it recorded sales of 4.0581 trillion KRW, operating profit of 706.3 billion KRW, and net profit of 485.2 billion KRW in the first half of 2021. These figures represent increases of 10.3%, 10.9%, and 10.6% respectively compared to the same period last year.

This performance was supported by strong results from luxury brands and the Chinese market. Total cosmetics sales, combining beauty and daily beauty, reached 2.9111 trillion KRW, with operating profit of 573.2 billion KRW, growing 14.9% and 17.4% respectively compared to the same period last year.

Compared to the same period last year, sales have increased for 62 quarters except for two quarters since Q3 2005, and operating profit has increased for 65 quarters except for one quarter since Q1 2005.

By business division, the beauty (cosmetics) business recorded first half sales of 2.2744 trillion KRW, up 14.3% year-on-year, and operating profit of 473.3 billion KRW, up 18.4%. Luxury cosmetics and the Chinese business showed strong growth, with sales and operating profit rapidly recovering to pre-COVID-19 levels. In particular, despite intensified competition in the Chinese luxury cosmetics market, major luxury brands such as ‘Whoo’, ‘O Hui’, and ‘Su:m37’ achieved strong results, confirming high demand in the local market.

The HDP (household goods) business recorded first half sales of 1.0169 trillion KRW, up 8.0% year-on-year, and operating profit of 125 billion KRW, down 2.7%. Thanks to differentiated new product launches by key brands and expansion of overseas business, steady growth continued. Although operating profit slightly decreased due to a significant drop in hygiene product demand in the first half of this year compared to last year’s surge, both sales and profit showed steady growth when excluding the hygiene product effect.

The Refreshment (beverage) business recorded first half sales of 766.8 billion KRW, up 2.5% year-on-year, and operating profit of 108 billion KRW, down 0.7%. Major brands such as ‘Coca-Cola’, ‘Powerade’, and ‘Monster Energy’ drove sales growth. However, profitability improvement was difficult due to continued price increases in cans caused by a prolonged production halt following a fire at the country’s largest can manufacturer, as well as rising raw material prices for PET bottles.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.