LG Innotek, Samsung Electro-Mechanics Q4 profit disappoint
Ji-Eun Jeong
Jan 25, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
LG Innotek Co. and Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., two major South Korean suppliers for Apple’s iPhone, on Wednesday reported more than a 60% plunge in fourth-quarter operating profit, weighed by the disrupted production of the iPhone 14 at its main assembler Foxconn in Taiwan.
Operating profit at LG Innotek was 170 billion won ($140 million) in the last quarter of 2022, down 60.4% from the year prior. It was sharply below the market consensus of 411.2 billion won.
Despite the disappointing quarterly profit, revenue increased 14.4% on-year to 6.5 trillion won. For all of 2022, it reported its largest-ever sales of 19.6 trillion won.
Samsung’s operating profit tumbled by 67.4% on-year to 101.2 billion won in the October-December quarter. Sales declined 17.4% to 2 trillion won during the period.
Its full-year operating profit dwindled by 20.4% on-year to 1.2 trillion won last year, hit by reduced demand for electronic devices after COVID-19 struck.
With little signs of a recovery in demand for smartphones and computers, Samsung will boost its automotive parts business and expand its customer base this year, the company said at a conference call on Wednesday.