LG Household & Health Care posted record earnings last year, marking the 15th consecutive year of growth. According to the company on Jan. 29, its sales reached 7.6 trillion won, 1.1 trillion won in operating profit and 788.2 billion won in net profit last year, up 13.9 percent, 13.2 percent and 13.9 percent, respectively, from the previous year.
"We have achieved sales and operating profit growth of more than 10 percent in each quarter despite many unfavorable factors at home and abroad, including the ongoing slump in the domestic economy, uncertainties stemming from the U.S.-China trade dispute, and the implementation of the Chinese e-commerce law, and the prolonged Hong Kong crisis," said an LG Household & Health Care official.
While the competitiveness of luxury brands such as "Whoo," "Su:m" and "O Hui" has been strong, its overseas business has grown at 48 percent in China and Japan, leading to even growth at home and abroad. Notably, it acquired Avon from the U.S. last year, raising expectations for expansion of its North American business.
Sales rose 18.5 percent year-on-year to 2.13 trillion won in the fourth quarter of last year, the first time the company posted more than 2 trillion won in quarterly sales.
Operating profit reached 241 billion won, up 14.3 percent from a year earlier. As a result, both sales and operating profit posted record fourth-quarter earnings.
The record-high performance was driven by the cosmetics business. Sales grew 21.5 percent on-year to 4.75 trillion won and operating profit rose 14.7 percent to 897.7 billion won over the cited period.
The household goods business saw its sales rise 1.8 percent on-year to 1.488.2 trillion won and operating profit grow 4.6 percent to 126 billion won over the cited period. The beverage business also grew 5.1 percent and 12.1 percent, respectively, with sales of 1.45 trillion won and operating profit of 152.7 billion won.
