LG Electronics said improving results in its core home appliance and vehicle components businesses pushed combined quarterly revenue from the two units above 10 trillion won for the first time. The company said it plans to sustain growth by focusing on future businesses such as data center cooling and commercialization of home robots.
In a final earnings release on Tuesday, LG Electronics reported first-quarter operating profit of 1.6737 trillion won, up 32.9% from a year earlier. Revenue rose 4.3% to 23.7272 trillion won. It was the company’s highest first-quarter revenue on record and its third-highest first-quarter operating profit.
Despite economic uncertainty, key businesses including home appliances and TVs supported the results, the company said. Its vehicle components business, a key driver of business-to-business growth, also continued to expand steadily.
On an earnings conference call Tuesday afternoon, an LG Electronics official said operating profit faced headwinds from higher prices for some raw materials and tariff effects that have intensified since the second half of last year, but the company maintained solid profitability by expanding higher-margin businesses.
Growth also continued in B2B, platform and direct-to-consumer experience businesses that the company said are driving quality growth based on profitability. First-quarter B2B revenue was 6.5 trillion won, up 19% from the previous quarter and up 1% from a year earlier, accounting for 36% of companywide revenue. Subscription business revenue, including product and service sales, rose 8% from the previous quarter and 15% from a year earlier to 640 billion won.
The Home Appliance Solution (HS) division, which makes products such as washing machines and refrigerators, posted revenue of 6.9431 trillion won and operating profit of 569.7 billion won. Revenue was the highest across all quarters, and the division posted an operating margin of 8.2% despite higher raw material costs and the impact of U.S. tariffs. The company said its strategy of targeting both premium and midrange segments while expanding online sales and appliance subscriptions helped results.
The Media Entertainment Solution (MS) division, which includes TVs, reported revenue of 5.1694 trillion won and operating profit of 371.8 billion won. Operating profit rose sharply from a year earlier and returned to the black from the previous quarter.
The Vehicle Solution (VS) division posted revenue of 3.0644 trillion won and operating profit of 211.6 billion won, setting quarterly records for both. The company said sales increased, led by European automakers, as in-vehicle infotainment solutions moved upmarket and were adopted in more models.
The Eco Solution (ES) division reported revenue of 2.8223 trillion won and operating profit of 248.5 billion won. Both fell from a year earlier due to weaker consumer sentiment tied to the Middle East war and higher labor costs from staffing increases in key businesses, the company said.
LG Electronics said it will prioritize securing opportunities in data center cooling. The company said its chiller business, part of its data center cooling push, is expected to reach its 2027 revenue target of 1 trillion won ahead of schedule. It also said data center-related revenue, though still at an early stage, grew to about three times the prior year’s level last year. The company said certification processes for key products are progressing smoothly with major customers, including global big tech firms, and it expects to share visible results soon.
The company also said it is accelerating commercialization of home robots, which it described as a future core business. An LG Electronics official said proof-of-concept demonstrations for its CLOi humanoid business are being carried out systematically this year, and that mass production of initial volumes of actuators, a key robot component, is set to begin in the first half of the year.
The official said demonstrations will start in the first half and expand gradually into industrial and home uses, adding that the company will use its home-related expertise from its appliance business to lay the groundwork for commercialization of home robots in 2028.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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