LG Energy Solution flags 26% rise in Q3 operating profit (updated)

HYUNDAI MOTOR

08/10/2026 24:49

Adds details of preliminary earnings
By Heekyong Yang and Heejin Kim
SEOUL, Oct 8 (Reuters) - South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution 373220.KS said on Thursday the company expects its July-September operating profit to rise 25.7% to 756 billion won ($564.09 million).
That compared with an LSEG SmartEstimate forecast for an operating profit of 309 billion won, which is weighted toward analysts who are more consistently accurate.

Here are some details:
•	LGES, which supplies Tesla TSLA.O, General Motors   GM.N and Hyundai Motor 005380.KS among others, has been grappling with a prolonged slowdown in EV demand. 
•	Revenue likely rose 59% to 9.6 trillion won from a year earlier, according to LGES' regulatory filing.
•	The quarterly earnings guidance includes tax credits provided under the US Inflation Reduction Act for the company's battery production in the United States, LGES said in a statement. Excluding those credits, the company would have posted an operating profit of 339.1 billion won.
•	Analysts attributed the better-than-expected operating profit to a one-off gain from a North American automaker, which paid compensation for falling short of minimum purchase commitments amid weak EV demand.
•	To offset weakness in the EV market, LGES has been expanding its energy storage system (ESS) business, where demand is being supported by rising electricity needs from artificial intelligence data centres.
•	Analysts said AI-driven data centre demand for ESS is emerging as a growth driver for battery makers. However, they cautioned that LGES' ESS business remains loss-making and that the timing of a turnaround has been pushed back.
•	LGES said it plans to announce detailed quarterly results on November 3.   
($1 = 1,340.2200 won)

 (Reporting by Heekyong Yang and Heejin Kim
Editing by Ed Davies)
 ((Heekyong.Yang@thomsonreuters.com;))