EV battery giant LG Energy Solution positively impacts North American market outlook |
SEOUL, 27 january (Reuters) – Battery maker LG Energy Solution ( LGES ) ( 373220.KS ) said on Friday that demand for electric vehicle (EV) batteries in North America will remain strong this year, boosting earnings despite persistent concerns about it. inflation.
Tesla (TSLA.O), General The South Korean company, which supplies Motors Co ( GM.N ) and others, said it was targeting 25-30% revenue growth this year and 33.3 trillion won (27 billion dollars) he said he aims to reach. ) in revenue.
LGES’ fourth-quarter earnings tripled as it increased electricity car rushing to get a bigger share of the market car increased production to clear a large backlog of orders from its manufacturers.
It plans to increase capital spending by 50% or more this year compared to 2022.
Asked whether a series of price cuts by major customer Tesla would affect battery prices, LGES said it expected a limited impact on overall battery prices.
Tesla said on Wednesday that aggressive price cuts had fueled a wave of demand for its cars and eased concerns that a weak economy would dampen buyer interest.
“High interest rates and inflation Although we are witnessing some negative macro issues such as car are clearly entering into an EV price war for their manufacturers,” said Kang Dong-jin. Analyst at Hyundai Motor Securities.
Although LGES noted some negative economic factors, such as softening EV demand, particularly in Europe, the company USAA positive outlook in the North American market, which has seen an increase in the number of customers demanding batteries manufactured in offer did federal EV subsidies.
The firm, which owns joint battery plants with GM, Stellantis NV ( STLA.MI ) and Honda Motor Co Ltd ( 7267.T ) in North America, said battery orders rose to 385 trillion won or more through the end of December. It is 15 times more than the projected income for 2023.
LGES said in a conference call that it expects about half of global battery manufacturing capacity to be assigned to the North American region in the future.
LGES currently supplies Tesla with batteries from China, and the supplier’s offer said it was in “active discussions” with the Elon Musk-controlled company and other electric car startups to supply batteries from its Arizona factory.
LGES, offer said that it is reviewing the investment commitments in the Arizona plant in detail.
237 of LGES operating profit for October-December billion won (193 million dollars), and a year ago it was 76 billion von.
That compared with an average analyst forecast of 256 billion won compiled by Refinitiv SmartEstimate.
It missed analysts’ estimates due to one-time costs such as provisions for an energy storage system and year-end bonuses.
LG Energy said in a regulatory filing that revenue for the quarter rose 92% to 8.5 trillion won.
Shares of LGES, which was spun off from LG Chem Ltd ( 051910.KS ) in its market debut last year, were down 0.4% in afternoon trade, versus a 1% rise in the KOSPI ( .KS11 ).
($1 = 1,232.3200 won)
Reporting by Heekyong Yang, Hyunsu Yim, Joyce Lee; Edited by Christian Schmollinger
Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
2023-01-27 08:35:54
Source – reuters
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