SEOUL– LG Household & Health Care Ltd., a major South Korean cosmetics and household goods maker, said Thursday its net profit plunged 46.8 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier due to a persistent slump in its China business.
Net income amounted to 127.4 billion won (US$89.9 million) on a consolidated basis in the July-September period, compared with 239.5 billion won the same period the previous year, LG Household & Health Care said in a regulatory filing.
Operating profit dropped 44.5 percent on-year to 190.1 billion won, while revenue inched down 7 percent to 1.87 trillion won in the cited period.
“The effects of COVID-19 lockdowns in China persisted into the third quarter, which has led to an overall economic slowdown. Raw material price increases and a depreciation of the Korean currency added pressure to production costs,” the company explained.
LG Household & Health Care said the operating profit of its beauty sector nosedived by 68.6 percent. Along with weakened consumer sentiment in China, Beijing’s recent stricter regulation of social media influencers have hurt the company’s online sales, it said.
Sales of its household goods sector increased 8.8 percent, but suffered an 11.8 percent drop in operating profit due to a surge in production costs.
Its refreshment business was robust, with operating profit going up by 4.9 percent and sales growing by 11.3 percent on-year.
Source: Yonhap News Agency