LG Energy Solution Swings to Net Loss in Q1 Amid Weaker EV Demand
Company reports 944 billion won net loss as weakening global EV battery demand weighs on earnings; plans to shift more production to ESS systems
Hızlı Bakış
- LG Energy Solution reported a net loss of 944 billion won in Q1 2026, reversing from a net profit of 227 billion won a year earlier, as weakening global demand for EV batteries and higher costs from an ESS plant ramp-up in the U.S. weighed on performance.
- Sales fell 2.5% to 6.55 trillion won.
- The company is repurposing EV battery production lines at its Ultium Cells plant in Tennessee to produce energy storage systems, aiming to increase ESS and new business share to mid-40% from around 20%.
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LG Energy Solution is one of the world's largest EV battery makers and supplies major automakers including General Motors, which is a partner in the Ultium Cells joint venture. The company has been expanding its energy storage system business as demand for EVs slows globally.
LG Energy Solution Ltd. said Thursday it swung to a net loss in the first quarter from a year earlier, as weakening global demand for electric vehicle (EV) batteries weighed on earnings.
For the first three months of this year, the company shifted to a net loss of 944 billion won (US$635.8 million) from a net profit of 227 billion won a year ago.
"Lower sales of EV batteries to key customers and higher costs associated with the initial ramp-up of an energy storage system (ESS) plant in the United States weighed on quarterly performance," a company official said.
It also shifted to an operating loss of 207.8 billion won from an operating profit of 374.7 billion won over the cited period. Sales fell 2.5 percent to 6.55 trillion won from 6.72 trillion won.
Last month, Chief Executive Kim Dong-myung said the company plans to repurpose some EV battery production capacity to manufacture ESS products, in response to softer demand from the automotive sector.
Under the plan, part of the EV battery production line at its Ultium Cells plant in Tennessee has been converted to produce ESS systems.
"The company aims to increase the share of ESS and new businesses to the mid-40 percent range over time, from around 20 percent currently, to build a more stable and balanced portfolio," Kim said at a shareholders meeting last month.
Açık Sorular
- Which specific key customers reduced EV battery orders?
- What is the exact timeline for the ESS production conversion?
- How will the shift to ESS affect employment at the Tennessee plant?
