Category Archives: Financial

LG ANNOUNCES 2020 FINANCIAL RESULTS

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LG Electronics Inc. (LG) announced a strong year with 2020 revenues of KRW 63.26 trillion (USD 56.45 billion) and record-setting operating profit of KRW 3.20 trillion (USD 2.85 billion), an increase of 31.1 percent over 2019, driven primarily by higher sales of premium home appliances and OLED TVs as well as strong growth in vehicle component solutions.

Sales in the fourth quarter of KRW 18.78 trillion (USD 16.76 billion) grew 16.9 percent from the same period of 2019 and were 11 percent higher than the previous quarter. Despite the impact of COVID-19, the quarter’s operating profit of KRW 650.20 billion (USD 580.19 million) increased significantly by 539 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2019.

While COVID-19 and slow economic recovery remain concerns for 2021, LG expects the global economy to normalize under the sound fiscal policies of world governments and the successful implementation of vaccinations. In 2021, core technologies such as AI, 5G, IoT and mobility will be widely applied to various LG business areas.

The LG Home Appliance & Air Solution Company ended another healthy year with record 2020 revenues of KRW 22.27 trillion (USD 19.87 billion), an increase of 3.5 percent increase from the previous year, and operating profit of KRW 2.35 trillion (USD 2.10 billion), another record. Results reflect increased sales of new appliance categories and the home appliance rental business in South Korea. Fourth-quarter revenue of KRW 5.54 trillion (USD 4.94 billion) was the highest fourth quarter in the company’s history, an increase of 20 percent year-on-year with double digit growth in South Korea, North America and Europe.

The LG Home Entertainment Company reported 2020 revenues of KRW 13.18 trillion (USD 11.76 billion) and operating profit of KRW 969.70 billion (USD 865.29 million), a 22.9 percent increase over the previous year. Sales in the quarter of KRW 4.28 trillion (USD 3.82 billion) were 7.9 percent higher than the fourth quarter of 2019 and up 16.7 percent from the previous quarter. Quarterly operating profit of KRW 204.50 billion (USD 182.48 million) reflected increased sales in North America and Europe.

The LG Mobile Communications Company announced full-year 2020 revenues of KRW 5.22 trillion (USD 4.66 billion). Fourth-quarter sales of KRW 1.39 trillion (USD 1.24 billion) were 4.9 percent higher than the same quarter of 2019 but 9.2 percent lower than the previous quarter due to shortages of 4G chipsets and sluggish sales of premium smartphones in overseas markets. The full-year operating loss totaled KRW 841.20 billion (USD 750.63 million), reflecting increased marketing investments to support flagship devices, partially offset by fixed cost reductions due to manufacturing efficiencies.

The LG Vehicle Component Solutions Company reported sales in 2020 of KRW 5.80 trillion (USD 5.18 billion), growth of 6.1 percent over 2019. Revenues in the fourth quarter of KRW 1.91 trillion (USD 1.71 billion) were 41.3 percent higher than the same quarter the previous year driven in large part by the recovery of demand in key automotive markets including North America and Europe and higher sales from new projects. The modest fourth-quarter operating loss of KRW 2 billion (USD 1.78 million) improved year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter due to sales increases aligned with the recovery of market demand in the second half, as well as improved cost management.

The LG Business Solutions Company achieved 2020 revenues of KRW 6.01 trillion (USD 5.36 billion) with an operating profit of KRW 457.88 billion (USD 408.51 million) due to demand growth for IT products related to remote working and online learning. Fourth-quarter sales of KRW 1.51 trillion (USD 1.35 billion) were 4.8 percent higher than the same period of 2019, while quarterly operating profit was KRW 70.30 billion (USD 62.73 million), lower than the previous year due higher prices for major components and global logistic costs. The market for information displays is expected to improve as global demand recovers while demand for IT products continues to grow. The company’s solar module business is expected to improve with increased demand for renewable energy in major developed markets.

White Goods Market Is Expected to Reach $1031.00 Bn, globally, by 2027

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According to the report published by Allied Market Research, the global white goods market was estimated at $635.4 billion in 2019 and is expected to hit $1031.0 billion by 2027, registering a CAGR of 7.8% from 2021 to 2027.

Rise in disposable income, growth in advertisement and internet penetration, and surge in the number of restaurants and hotels fuel the growth of the global white goods market. On the other hand, usage of white goods affects the environment and promotes health issues, which impedes the growth of the market. However, launch of new eco-friendly products and further technological advancements are expected to present number of opportunities in the near future

Arcelik AS signed a deal to buy 60% of Hitachi Global Life Solutions

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Turkey’s leading household appliances maker Arcelik AS signed a deal to buy 60% of Hitachi Global Life Solutions Inc.’s for $300 million to deliver on its strategy to expand in emerging markets.

Arcelik and Hitachi GLS will form a new company that Arcelik will control to run operations in the home appliances market, excluding Japan, the Turkish company said in a filing to the stock exchange on Wednesday. The total transaction value is calculated on a cash-free and debt-free basis for the business,

Arcelik’s shares rose as much as 1% at the start of trading in Istanbul but were down 0.4% at 31.20 liras as of 10:04 a.m. Bloomberg reported on Friday that Arcelik was in talks to buy Hitachi’s oversees home appliance business.

The transaction includes two subsidiaries of Hitachi GLS with manufacturing facilities in Thailand and China, and 10 sales companies in the region that mainly sell refrigerators, washing machines, vacuum cleaners, rice cooker, water pumps and air conditioners. The annual production capacity of Thai and Chinese manufacturing firms is 3 million units of refrigerators and washing machines in total, according to the filing.

The consolidated net revenue of the acquired business, excluding Japan, was around $1 billion. Its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda, was about $70 million for the fiscal year ending on March 31. After the transfer, the product range is expected to be expanded with dryers, dishwashers, ovens and other small household appliances.wth Push

Arcelik sells products under 12 brands including Beko, Flavel, Grundig and Altus, according to its website. It’s expanded through acquisitions over the years, purchasing companies including South Africa’s Defy Appliances Pty Ltd. and Pakistan’s Dawlance Group.

The Turkish company has singled out the Asia Pacific region as a key growth market and last year agreed to buy control of the company that operates the Singer brand in Bangladesh.

“Asia Pacific will be the accelerator of the growth in our sector in the next 10 years with its increasing medium-class population, household revenues and improving retail channels and life style,” Arcelik’s chief executive officer, Hakan Bulgurlu, said in an emailed statement.

Arcelik AS in Turkey is in advanced talks with Japanese industrial conglomerate Hitachi Ltd. to take over overseas household equipment business

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Arcelik AS in Turkey is in advanced talks with Japanese industrial conglomerate Hitachi Ltd. to take over overseas household equipment business, people with knowledge said.

An agreement is likely to be reached within the next few weeks, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. According to the people, the transaction can be valued at about $ 500 million, according to the people.

The potential deal would contribute to the $ 83 billion in sales announced by Japanese companies this year, 38% higher than a year earlier, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Hitachi has requested separate offers for its listed metal unit because it wants to streamline its business, Bloomberg News reported. It also left a UK nuclear project in September

DeLonghi ha acquire Capital Brands Nutribullet and Magic Bullet brands.

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DeLonghi has reached a definitive agreement with affiliates of Centre Lane Partners to acquire Capital Brands Holdings, Inc., a leader in the personal blenders segment with the Nutribullet and Magic Bullet brands.

The price payable by DeLonghi for Capital Brands is approximately $420 million. The closing of the transaction is expected to take place before the end of 2020.

With its research and development centers in Boston and in Connecticut, Capital Brands brings innovative technologies to the development of products that cater to an evolved concept of nutrition, the company said. Centre Lane Partners acquired Capital Brands in 2018. Nutribullet and Magic Bullet are highly recognizable brands that have earned a strong reputation among consumers. Capital Brands’ strengths and expertise will contribute to accelerate DeLonghi Group’s growth in the world of healthy foods, the company added.

Massimo Garavaglia, CEO of DeLonghi, said, “This acquisition is a perfect fit for the DeLonghi Group and is consistent with our objectives of geographical expansion and growth by external lines. Moreover, it represents a strategic value from several viewpoints: we add a young and dynamic brand to our portfolio; we enlarge our range of iconic products with an important presence in the blender segment; we increase our penetration in an expanding and strategically important market like the USA; and last, but not least, we strengthen the DeLonghi Group’s leadership in the sector of food preparation.”

DeLonghi Group owns such brands as DeLonghi, Braun, Kenwood and Ariete.

Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Los Angeles, Capital Brands develops and sells domestic appliances with a focus on wellness nutrition to households in over 100 markets worldwide under the Nutribullet and Magic Bullet brands. Capital Brands forecasts net revenues of approximately $290 million for year 2020, ahead of last year sales. With this transaction, the U.S. become the largest market for the DeLonghi Group, with aggregate turnover in excess of $500 million.

Rich Krause, CEO of Capital Brands, said, “We are very pleased to be joining the DeLonghi Group and to have the opportunity to align our strong brands with theirs. We are excited about the future growth opportunities that we will be able to exploit in the U.S. and internationally with the support of our new shareholder.”

Miele equips FC Bayern Munich with premium kitchen appliances

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Exclusive gourmet experiences and cooking events will be held in the Allianz Arena within the new FC Bayern Flagship Project. For this initiative Miele will be protagonist too, having established a three years partnership with the football club, according to which the German home appliances company will organize cooking events at FC Bayern Munich’s central locations.
In this and the two following seasons, Miele will equip FC Bayern Munich’s Säbener St. headquarters, the new FC Bayern Flagship Project in the centre of Munich and a lounge at the Allianz Arena with its cooking appliances.At selected home games, guests and partners of FC Bayern can enjoy the similarly unique gourmet service provided by Miele’s MChef subsidiary in the Lounge, with exclusive menus. On days without fixtures, the Miele Lounge provides the ideal setting for one of Germany’s most innovative cookery schools – headed by star-spangled chef Kevin von Holt from Hamburg. There, von Holt has already been highly successful in running a gourmet cooking school and in organising high-class cooking and lifestyle events where he, above all, places great store by the natural flavour of fresh, regional ingredients.
Miele will also be represented in the new FC Bayern Flagship Project, due to open soon. The seven-storey building in downtown Munich houses two restaurants and a boutique hotel, alongside the flagship store. The hotel also boasts an event location with a spectacular view of the Church of Our Lady – and an exclusive show kitchen kitted out by Miele.
«We are thrilled at our partnership with one of the most impressive football clubs in the world – says Dr. Axel Kniehl, Executive Director Marketing and Sales with the Miele Group. – Being ‘forever better’ and setting our sights on ever new inspiring goals instead of resting on our laurels is what characterises both of us. Through our collaboration, we wish, in particular, to sustainably offer the partners and fans of FC Bayern exquisite culinary highlights

KONKA Group Acquires Beko Changzhou Plant and Reaches a Strategic Cooperation with Arcelik

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Jiangsu KONKA Smart Electrical Appliances Co., Ltd. acquired Beko Changzhou Plant and entered into a strategic cooperation agreement with Arcelik (the parent company of Beko).

By signing this agreement, both parties agree to share their developments related to systematic washing machine design. This will help make up for KONKA’s engineering capacity shortcoming for KONKA drum washing machine manufacturing, facilitate the export of KONKA washing machines to Europe, America and other regions, and further promote the globalization of KONKA white goods and the KONKA brand.

In 2021, the forecasted annual sales volume of KONKA drum washing machine is over 500,000 sets, reaching a level near first-tier brands. In the next 3 years, the planned annual total sales volume of KONKA washing machine will surpass 1 million sets. By then, KONKA will become one of the first-tier washing machine brands in China.

The strong alliance with Arcelik, as one of the major measures of KONKA’s Ten-billion-sales-volume Strategy for White Goods, marked the beginning of a new phase for KONKA drum washing machine: a shift from OEM to independent R&D, design, production and manufacturing. In the future, led by KONKA Group’s strategic transformation, KONKA white goods will continue to update its products targeting consumer pain points, such as intelligence and healthcare, and enhance its core competitivenes

Vestel has bought two British home appliance brands to

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Turkish white goods firm Vestel has bought two British home appliance brands to strengthen its position in the global market.

According to a company statement Wednesday, the new deal with U.K.-based Crosslee PLC will help Vestel get a foothold in new markets while strengthening its presence in Europe and the U.K.

The deal was for the acquisition of the Hostess and White Knight business trademarks, intellectual property rights, domain names and equipment related to the trademarks.

Vestel CEO Turan Erdoğan said the company was focused on increasing its competitive advantages with strategic market-oriented business cooperation and brand acquisitions, supporting Vestel’s strength in production and exports.

With this latest acquisition, Erdoğan said, “We will strengthen our position in the U.K. as well as increase our contribution to the country’s exports by focusing on different markets.”

The registration process for the trademark transfer is being completed in the EU, while the process continues in some non-EU countries.

Electrolux raises market outlook after profit beats forecasts

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A pick-up in demand for fridges and washing machines amongst housebound buyers throughout the pandemic helped Electrolux beat earnings forecasts on Friday and submit its easiest quarterly margin ever.

The Swedish domestic equipment maker, whose competitors encompass Whirlpool, LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics, suffered early on in the coronavirus crisis, as lockdowns in various massive markets precipitated a sharp drop in demand and hit production.

“Sales additionally benefited from shoppers spending extra time at home, the usage of their home equipment extra intensively and allocating extra of their family budgets to domestic improvement,” CEO Jonas Samuelson stated in a statement.

The maker of manufacturers such as Frigidaire, Zanussi and Anova stated running revenue rose to 3.22 billion Swedish crowns ($367 million) from 1.06 billion, beating the 2.44 billion predicted by using analysts, Refinitiv Eikon records showed.

Net income rose to 32.0 billion crowns, with natural income growing by way of 15.2%, versus 30.9 billion predicted by way of analysts. Operating margin rose to 10.1%, the best ever quarterly margin for the firm.

LG Electronics expected its best-ever third-quarter earnings,

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LG Electronics Inc. on Thursday expected its best-ever third-quarter earnings, as its home appliance and TV sales apparently got a boost from pent-up demand amid the pandemic-driven stay-at-home trend.

In its earnings guidance, the South Korean tech firm projected its operating profit at 959 billion won (US$831 million) for the July-September period, up 22.7 percent from a year earlier.

Its third-quarter operating income estimate beats the market consensus of 888.7 billion won in the data compiled by Yonhap Infomax, the financial arm of Yonhap News Agency, which surveyed 10 Korean brokerage houses in the past three weeks.

LG also expected its third-quarter sales to be 16.9 trillion won in the three-month period, up 7.8 percent from a year earlier. The figure is also above the market consensus of 16.4 trillion won.

Both sales and operating profit are the largest for any third quarter in its history.

LG did not break down performances of its respective business divisions, saying it will announce the detailed earnings later this month.

Analysts believe LG’s products highlighting health and hygiene features, such as air purifiers and steam dryers, led its home appliance sales amid the pandemic, while its TV sales also jumped due to the fast-growing stay-at-home economy and demand recovery in North America.

“As stay-at-home trends continue due to COVID-19, sales of its premium home appliances and TVs have been solid,” Lee Wang-jin, an analyst at eBest Investment & Securities, said.

“With reduced marketing costs, sales of 75-inch or larger TVs went very well.”

According to market researcher TrendForce, LG was the world’s second largest TV vendor in the third quarter after its TV shipments increased 6.7 percent on-year to 7.94 million units.

Compared with the second quarter, LG’s TV shipments soared 81.7 percent.

This photo provided by LG Electronics Inc. on Sept. 4, 2020, shows the company's OLED TV displayed at a store in Australia.

This photo provided by LG Electronics Inc. on Sept. 4, 2020, shows the company’s OLED TV displayed at a store in Australia.

LG’s struggling mobile business has been projected to narrow its operating losses in the third quarter with smartphone sales increasing.

The company expanded its budget smartphone lineup in major markets to overcome the long slump in the mobile business, which has been in the red since the second quarter of 2015.

“LG’s mobile business is expected to have reduced its operating loss with demand recovery in the United States and some benefits from the Huawei ban in the Latin American market,” Kim Rok-ho, an analyst at Hana Financial Investment, said.

LG’s vehicle component solutions business has been also tapped to post improved earnings in the third quarter as global automakers started to resume operations after lockdowns.

Shares in LG dived 2.91 percent to 93,300 won on the Seoul bourse, underperforming the broader KOSPI’s 0.21 percent increase despite its upbeat earnings guidance