LG overtakes Whirlpool as top home appliance maker after strong Q3

LG Electronics Inc. has overtaken bigger home appliance rival Whirlpool Corp. after posting record quarterly sales, comfortably putting it on course to be the world’s top maker of home, kitchen and laundry appliances this year.

The South Korean electronics company on Thursday reported 18.79 trillion won ($16.1 billion) in consolidated sales for the quarter ending Sept. 30, up 22% from the year-earlier period.

Third-quarter operating profit declined 50% on year to 540.7 billion as it booked 480 billion won in one-time charge related to General Motors’ recall of Chevy Bolt EVs equipped with batteries supplied by LG.

For the first nine months of the year, the company’s revenue and operating profit reached their highest levels with 53.71 trillion won and 3.19 trillion won, respectively.

LG’s robust third-quarter sales were driven by its home appliance and air solution (H&A) division, which posted strong sales of a suite of high-class consumer goods sold under the LG Objet Collection brand.

The company’s third-quarter home appliance sales were 7.61 trillion won ($6.5 billion), outpacing Whirlpool’s $5.48 billion revenue for the same period.

With the latest results, LG’s H&A division’s revenue surpassed that of the US home appliance giant for the third consecutive quarter.

Analysts said LG will stay ahead of Whirlpool for the full year if the current trend continues.

OBJET BRAND HELPS

The LG Objet Collection brand, launched in 2020, features a concept of “private appliance,” offering tailor-made functions depending on consumers' individual preferences, even beyond design.

The company said home appliance sales in North America, Europe and Latin America posted double-digit growth in the third quarter.

The results underscore the strong pandemic-led consumer appetite for TVs, washers and other home appliances as they were forced to stay at home for remote work and online learning.

Its home entertainment (HE) business that makes TVs posted 4.18 trillion won in sales, up 14% from a year ago, thanks to the growing popularity of premium organic light-emitting diode (OLED) TVs.

According to market tracker Omdia, global OLED TV shipments by TV makers will rise to 6.5 million units this year, an upward revision from its forecast earlier this year for 5.8 million units.

LG is the world’s largest OLED TV manufacturer, accounting for two-thirds of the global shipments.

LG’s vehicle component solutions (VS) division posted 1.74 trillion won in revenue. But it reported 537.6 billion won in operating loss as the global automotive chip shortage ballooned the cost of components the division purchased.

Write to Shin-Young Park at nyusos@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.