LG Electronics hits record sales in India, paving way for 2025 IPO

LG Electronics Inc. posted its largest-ever sales in India in 2024, providing a boost to the planned initial public offering of its Indian unit this year.

Revenue at its Indian operations jumped 14.8% to 3.79 trillion won ($2.8 billion) in 2024 from the previous year, according to LG Electronics’ regulatory filing on Tuesday. That marks the subsidiary’s largest-ever annual revenue.

Its net profit surged 43.4% on-year to 331.8 billion won.

“LG Electronics has been growing rapidly in India, having established itself as a household brand in the country,” said a company official.

In December, its Indian unit filed a preliminary registration statement for its IPO with the Securities and Exchange Board of India. Investment banking sources expect the IPO to raise up to $1.8 billion with an enterprise value of about $13 billion.

Last week, its investor relations meeting in Mumbai was packed with institutional investors, said the company.

The South Korean home appliance giant will hold roadshows in Singapore, Hong Kong and Boston in the US through the end of March.

If it makes a trading debut in India, it will become the second South Korean company to float on the South Asian country's stock market. In October, Hyundai Motor India raised $3.3 billion in India’s largest IPO and the carmaker’s first offshore stock market listing.

LG Electronics has maintained a commanding presence in India’s consumer electronics market.

According to Indian research and consulting firm Redseer, LG controlled 33.5% of India’s washing machine market in the first half of last year, 28.7% of the refrigerator market, and 25.8% of the television segment.

Still, the home appliance penetration rate in the world’s most populous country for refrigerators, washing machines and air conditioners stood at 38%, 17% and 8% in 2023, respectively, far below that of China.

LG also plans to make India a global manufacturing hub, as an alternative to China.

In 2023, LG expanded its refrigerator production capacity in Pune and is planning to build another factory in southern India, with an investment of 830 billion won ($620 million).

"India's consumer market holds vast growth potential and is also emerging as a key global manufacturing hub thanks to its abundant labor force," said a consumer electronics industry official.

“With its industries still in its early stages, LG Electronics foresees significant growth potential in its business-to-business (B2B) operations," he added.

Write to Chae-Yeon Kim at Why29@hankyung.com

Yeonhee Kim edited this article.