[Edaily Reporter JAEMIN SONG ] LGELECTRONICS posted an “earnings surprise” in the second quarter of this year, significantly exceeding market expectations. Its operating profit for the first half of the year alone surpassed last year’s full-year results, setting a new record for the best first-half performance in the company’s history.

LGELECTRONICS announced on the 8th that its preliminary consolidated results for the second quarter of this year showed revenue of 23.8297 trillion won and operating profit of 1.5788 trillion won. Compared to the same period last year, revenue increased by 14.9% and operating profit by 146.9%. Both revenue and operating profit marked the highest second-quarter figures in the company’s history. Cumulative first-half revenue reached 47.5569 trillion won, and operating profit reached 3.2525 trillion won, both setting all-time highs. First-half operating profit alone exceeded last year’s full-year operating profit (2.4784 trillion won).

The results also significantly exceeded market expectations. According to financial information provider FnGuide Inc., the market consensus for LGELECTRONICS’ second quarter was revenue of 22.5443 trillion won and operating profit of 1.058 trillion won. Actual operating profit was approximately 500 billion won higher than market expectations, and revenue also exceeded forecasts by more than 1 trillion won, resulting in an earnings surprise.

The strong performance was driven by both core and new growth businesses. Home appliances and TVs continued to show steady growth, fueled by increased sales of premium products. Air conditioner sales also rose, particularly in overseas markets, as the seasonal peak demand period began. The Vehicle Components (VS) business maintained stable growth, supported by a high order backlog and expanded sales of premium infotainment systems.

Profitability also improved. The profit structure became even stronger as the proportion of high-margin businesses—such as webOS, subscriptions, and online services—expanded, combined with the leverage effect from increased revenue. Although costs related to the voluntary retirement program implemented last April were reflected in the results, the impact on profitability was minimized through enhanced cost competitiveness and a company-wide emergency management system.

Tariff refunds from the U.S. also contributed to the improved performance. LGELECTRONICS received a refund of a portion of the tariffs paid on exports to the U.S. last year and recognized this as a one-time gain in the second quarter. However, even excluding the tariff refund, core business profitability is assessed to have remained robust, driven by price increases in the HS business, growth in subscription home appliances, and expanded sales of high-margin infotainment products in the VS business. Additionally, LG Innotek’s strong performance is analyzed to have positively contributed to the improvement in consolidated profits.

The market is assessing that these results indicate LGELECTRONICS’ efforts to improve its business structure are now yielding tangible results. Analysts note that as the proportion of high-margin businesses—such as subscriptions, platforms, automotive components, and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC)—expands within the company’s home appliance-centric business structure, earnings volatility is gradually decreasing.

An LGELECTRONICS official stated, “Based on our core business competitiveness, we will expand our premium home appliance and business-to-business (B2B) operations while continuing to invest in future growth areas, such as AI data center cooling solutions, to sustain growth driven by profitability.”