LG Energy Solution posted a 34.1% increase in third-quarter operating profit to 601.3 billion won ($423 million), the South Korean battery maker said Monday, as rising energy storage system demand helped cushion the blow from sluggish electric vehicle sales.
Revenue fell 17.1% from a year earlier, underscoring the company’s struggle to maintain growth in its core EV battery business. The profit figure includes 365.5 billion won ($257 million) in U.S. manufacturing tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act, down from 490.8 billion won the previous quarter.
Strip out the subsidies, and LG Energy made an operating profit of 235.8 billion won ($166 million)—marking the second consecutive quarter of profitability on that basis after six quarters in the red. The company returned to profitability excluding government support in the second quarter with just 1.4 billion won.
The improvement reflects LG Energy’s pivot toward storage systems as automakers grapple with weakening EV demand. The company ramped up ESS production at its Michigan facility while cutting fixed costs across operations. That shift comes as U.S. consumers pulled back on electric vehicle purchases following the September expiration of federal tax credits.
LG Energy, which supplies batteries to General Motors and Tesla, plans to release detailed third-quarter results later this month.
