11.6% rise in LG Chem’s first quarter net profit

29-Apr-09

Propped by marginal price rebound in petrochemical products and a weaker won vs the US dollar, Korea's largest chemical company by sales LG Chem, has reported a 11.6% rise in Q1 net profit. However, total sales saw a slight dip in the quarter due to sluggish demand for petro-related products and pessimistic oil price movement. Q1 net profit rose to 288.5 bln won year-on-year, while operating profit rose 34.6% to 487.3 bln won, even as sales fell by 2.7% to 3.40 trillion won. In the quarter, its petrochemical division reaped 374 billion won in operating profit, while sales reached 2.59 trillion won. The company's IT and electronic material division yielded 115 billion won in operating profit on sales of 786 billion won. Performance in the petrochemical sector is expected to improve in the second quarter on improved seasonal demand even as concerns of global recession still remain, requiring implementation of more intensive cost-cutting efforts. LG Chem has decided to invest a total of 1.048 trillion won for facility investment. The company’s annual sales target is 12.6 trillion won, including 9.3 trillion won in the petrochemical business.