LG Household & Health Care sees net profit rise 3 percent

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

LG Household & Health Care saw its consolidated net profit rise 3 percent on year in the third quarter on sales that fell 3 percent during the same period.

The health and beauty company reported 240 billion won ($205.8 million) in net profit in the third quarter, up 3.4 percent on year, it said in a preliminary report released on Tuesday. Sales during the same period fell 2.9 percent to 2.01 trillion won.

LG Household & Health Care consists of three divisions: Beauty, home care and daily beauty and refreshment.

The beauty division saw on-year sales decline 10.2 percent in the third quarter to 1.03 trillion won while operating profit increased 9 percent to 215.4 billion won.

The company’s cosmetics brands include The History of Whoo, O Hui and belief.

The company said that it focused on raising consumer loyalty for luxury products by offering new types of items through collaborations with artist.

The home care and daily beauty division, which sells laundry detergents and toothpastes, saw its on-year sales jump 6.1 percent to 540 billion won. Its operating profit was down 4.7 percent to 63.6 billion won “due to the rapid rise in demand for hygiene products last year.”

The refreshment division saw its on-year sales rise 6.1 percent to 443.7 billion won, and its operating profit inch up 0.1 percent to 63.2 billion won.

Coca-Cola and Seagram are sold through the company.

The company said that low-sugar and low-calorie drinks have been newly introduced in line with consumers’ interest for healthy beverages.

“The deterioration of the business environment triggered by various adverse factors such as the spread of the Delta variant of Covid-19, global supply chain shocks, and price hikes of major raw materials made the third quarter very difficult,” said the company in a statement released Tuesday.

“Sales decreased slightly due to loss of sales opportunities from the intensified logistics crisis ahead of major events such as Double Eleven in China and Black Friday in the U.S. in the fourth quarter, but profitability improved as a result of mix improvement from luxury cosmetics and premium products.”

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