LG overtakes Whirlpool as top appliance maker with record 2021 sales

LG Electronics Inc. has overtaken Whirlpool Corp. as the world’s top manufacturer of home, kitchen and laundry appliances after posting record sales in 2021.

The South Korean electronics company said on Thursday its consolidated revenue reached a record 74.72 trillion won ($63.2 billion) last year, up 29% from the previous year.

The company attributed its decent performance to strong sales of premium home appliances and OLED TVs.

Full-year operating profit, however, declined 1.1% to 3.86 trillion won, weighed by higher raw material and global logistics costs.

Its home appliance and air solution (H&A) division saw another record-setting year with 27.1 trillion won in revenue, a 21.7% increase from the previous year, boosted by robust sales of a suite of high-class consumer goods sold under the LG Objet Collection brand.

With the latest results, LG’s H&A division’s revenue surpassed that of the US home appliance giant for the first time on a yearly basis.

LG’s H&A division’s operating profit fell 2.9% to 2.22 trillion won.

The Korean company’s Objet Collection brand, launched in 2020, features a “private appliance” concept, appealing to high-end consumers who favor tailor-made functions, design and color in accordance with their individual preferences.

Sales from LG’s Home Entertainment division, which makes TVs, rose 31% to 17.22 trillion won last year, boosted by robust sales of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) TVs, with operating profit increasing 18% to 1.1 trillion won.

LG is the world’s top OLED TV maker, controlling more than two-thirds of the market.

The company’s Vehicle Component Solutions unit saw its revenue increase 24% to 7.19 trillion won in 2021, exceeding the 7 trillion won mark for the first time.

CHALLENGING BUSINESS CONDITIONS

The company said it expects challenging business conditions to persist into this year.

Its overall operating profit in the fourth quarter of 2021 dropped 21.4% to 678 billion won from the year-earlier period, although its quarterly sales rose 21% to an all-time high of 21 trillion won.

The company’s fourth-quarter profitability was buttressed by its home entertainment business, which reported a 16.4% on-year increase in its operating profit to about 5 trillion won owing to the growth in demand for premium OLED and large-screen TVs in its key markets such as Europe and North America.

Its H&A unit saw its operating fall 44% on year to 157.1 billion won in the fourth quarter, although revenue increased 18% to a record 6.52 trillion won.

“We will strengthen our competitiveness by further improving the cost structure and increasing sales of premium appliances and TVs in our strategic overseas markets,” the company said.

According to the market consensus, LG is forecast to post an operating profit of 4.83 trillion won on 77.41 trillion won in revenue this year.

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