As demand for home appliances has soared in the wake of the COVID-19, some analysts predict that LG Electronics' home appliance business will post favorable performance in the third quarter of this year.
As a result, attention is focused on whether the company will be able to maintain its No. 1 position in global sales in the third quarter beyond the U.S. home appliance maker Whirlpool.
According to the FN Guide on Sept. 26, securities companies’ consensus for LG Electronics' sales for the third quarter of this year is 16.2 trillion won ($13.7 billion). The figure is up 20 percent from sales of 13.4 trillion won a year earlier. Compared to last quarter's sales of 11.4 trillion won, its sales also increased by 41%.
In particular, securities firms believe that the H&A Business Headquarters, LG Electronics' home appliance division, which posted sales of 5.3 trillion won in the third quarter of last year before COVID-19 and 5.1 trillion won in the second quarter of this year, are likely to rise by 10~15% to the middle or later part of the 5 trillion won level.
Demand for home appliances, which had declined in the first half of the year in the aftermath of the COVID-19, surged in the second half.
As a result, industry watchers predict that LG Electronics will remain the top player in the third quarter, surpassing Whirlpool. The operating profit of LG Electronics' H&A division has been the world's No. 1 company since 2017, but it was the first time last year that the company topped the list in terms of sales.
LG Electronics' H&A division's sales in the first and second quarters of this year surpassed those of Whirlpool. However, sales in the third and fourth quarters of last year, when demand for home appliances such as Black Friday in the U.S., was revived, the company lagged behind Whirlpool.
