LG Household & Health Care reports a strong first half

Korean logo for LG Household & Health Care [LG HOUSEHOLD & HEALTH CARE]

LG Household & Health Care had a record first half, reporting 485.2 billion won ($435 million) in net profit, up 10.6 percent on year.

Sales were 4.06 trillion won, up 10.3 percent on year.

The cosmetic company’s second quarter sales were 2.02 trillion won, up 13.4 percent on year, and net profit was 226 billion won, up 10.6 percent during the same period.

The growth was led by the luxury cosmetics brands and strong sales in China, while profit fell at the company's two other divisions.

In the first half, the company’s beauty business division generated 473.3 billion won in operating profit, up 18.4 percent on year, on sales that increased 14.3 percent to 2.27 trillion won.

Operating profit for home care and daily beauty division, which sells laundry products like Saffron, fell by 2.7 percent to 125 billion won on sales that climbed 8 percent to 1.02 trillion won.

Operating profit for refreshment division, which sells beverages like Seagram’s, fell by 0.7 percent to 108 billion won. Sales inched up 2.5 percent to 766.8 billion won.

The company said the rise in the price polyethylene terephthalate (PET) made it challenging to improve the division’s profitability.

BY JIN MIN-JI [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]