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LG Electronics to build more factories in India after IPO: CEO

Published: 09 Jan. 2025, 10:50 Updated: 09 Jan. 2025, 13:37

JIN EUN-SOO
[email protected]

LG Electronics CEO William Cho speaks during the press conference on Wednesday held sideline to CES 2025 in Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS — LG Electronics plans to build more factories in India after going public there, aiming to establish itself as the national brand in the world’s most populous country, CEO William Cho said Wednesday.

The Korean electronics giant is expected to list its Indian subsidiary in the first half of the year, following the submission of draft papers with the local bourse in December.

“We would need to build more factories and tap into local talent,” Cho said during a press conference at CES 2025 in Las Vegas. “We are the No. 1 brand in every product category we sell in India, including refrigerators, washers and TVs, but we have a bigger dream of expanding further. My heart races whenever I talk about India.”

LG Electronics also plans to launch Q9, its AI-powered home agent, in the second half of the year while accelerating the development of home robotics.

“At the moment, we’re focusing on robots for F&B [food and beverage] and logistics because those sectors have shown the fastest growth,” Cho said. “However, home is our main playground. That’s why we believe our robotics business should ultimately center on the home.”

Starting with Q9, LG Electronics envisions humanoid robots that can achieve its vision of a "zero-labor home" in the future.

“Q9, with its wheels, can move freely. If we add joints, it will be able to handle basic household chores,” said Kim Byoung-hoon, LG Electronics’ CTO. “As it evolves into a humanoid, it could perform all household tasks, including accessing hard-to-reach areas. As highlighted in Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s presentation yesterday, the barriers to humanoid development have significantly decreased. If necessary, we can quickly advance to chore-specific humanoid robots. From an R&D perspective, we are dedicating significant effort to developing hands, arms, and humanoid technologies.”

Cho also addressed LG Electronics’ disappointing fourth-quarter earnings, which were announced the previous day.

The company forecast an operating profit of 146.1 billion won ($110.1 million) for the fourth quarter of last year, a 53.3 percent decline compared to the previous year, falling well below the market consensus of 397 billion won.

“I sincerely apologize. We performed well in the first half, but the second half was challenging due to seasonality [of our products],” Cho said. “I promise to address this issue, as I’ve pledged several times before. Expanding our business-to-business (B2B) operations will help reduce the impact of seasonality.”

High logistics costs were another factor behind the underwhelming results. Chinese companies reserved shipping capacity early in anticipation of former President Trump’s potential return to office, leaving LG Electronics to absorb logistics fees that surged by around 60 percent in the third quarter alone, Cho said.

BY JIN EUN-SOO [[email protected]]