LG Innotek Q1 net income sinks nearly 40 percent

LG Innotek, an electronic component manufacturing unit of LG Group, said Wednesday its first-quarter net profit tumbled nearly 40 percent due to waning demand and intensifying competition.

In a regulatory filing, the company reported a net income of 85.6 billion won ($60.1 million) for the January-March period, down 38.2 percent from 138.6 billion won a year earlier.

The sharp decline came despite a rise in sales, which jumped 15 percent on-year to 4.98 trillion won, the highest reading for the first quarter in the company's history.

Operating income tumbled 28.9 percent on-year to 125.1 billion won.

LG Innotek, a core supplier of camera modules used in the Apple iPhone, attributed the weak bottom line to a slowdown in global electric vehicle (EV) demand and intensifying competition in the optics industry.

Its operating profit is 3.3 percent lower than the average estimate, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency.

Yonhap