LG Chemical has a net loss

Recently, LG Chemical reported a net loss of 6 billion won in the fourth quarter of 2022, compared with a net profit of 337 billion won in the same period of the previous year. LG Chemical's operating profit in the fourth quarter of 2022 fell by 74.4% year-on-year, from 749 billion won to 91 billion won, with a year-on-year increase of 26.6% in sales to 3.8 trillion won.

LG Chemical's petrochemical business recorded an operating loss of 166 billion won. In the fourth quarter of 2022, the sales of petrochemical products fell 21% year-on-year to 4.2 trillion won. It is said that the performance of the petrochemical business was affected by the factory inspection suspension and the strike of the Korean freight union. LG Chemical said that the petrochemical market continued to deteriorate due to the increase in supply in Northeast Asia and the global economic slowdown. For the petrochemical business in 2023, LG Chemical predicts that due to the expansion of capacity in Northeast Asia, the supply surplus in the upstream market will continue. But overall, the market will gradually improve.

The operating profit of LG Chemical Advanced Materials Division increased significantly from 1 billion won in the same period of the previous year to 18 billion won. Its sales increased by 60% year-on-year to 1.8 trillion won. The increase in profit was due to the rise in metal prices and the expansion of high-value-added products such as semiconductors and organic light-emitting diode (OLED) materials. The operating profit of the company's energy solutions department in the fourth quarter of 2022 has more than doubled from 76 billion won in the same period last year to 237 billion won. Sales increased by 93% from 4.4 trillion won a year ago to 8.5 trillion won.