The three major Korean battery companies accounted for 49.0 percent of the global electric vehicle battery market, excluding China, in the first quarter. The total usage of their batteries amounted to about 64.2 GWh, a year-on-year growth of 45.3 percent.The three Korean battery makers ranked high i
LS Cable & System announced on May 8 that it has won a KRW 2 trillion (US$1.5 billion) order for high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cables from Dutch state-run utility company TenneT. The Korean cable maker will participate in a project to connect offshore wind farms in Europe’s North Sea and inland
This year has seen a rush of huge investments by Chinese battery materials makers partnering with Korean companies. In just four months, about five trillion won worth of joint ventures have been announced, led by major companies such as SK On and LG Chem. This is the exact opposite of a previous sit
Global automakers such as Hyundai Motor and Ford have been continuously making contracts with Korean battery makers such as LG Energy Solution, SK On, and Samsung SDI in order to establish joint ventures with them in the United States. On the other hand, concerns are being raised that the battery ma
The rapid growth of the electric vehicle market and a sharp increase in sales of the three Korean battery makers are bringing big profits to Chinese companies that dominate the market for key battery materials such as lithium. Korean battery makers depend on Chinese companies for close to 90 percent
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at minjae.lee@nhqv.com -- Ed.We continue to recommend KOGAS and KEPCO KPS in May on city gas tariff hike and 1Q23 earnings expectations, respectively. Nuclear plays are likely to perform sluggishly due to the end of the US-Ko
The market share of the three major Korean battery companies fell slightly in the first quarter of this year.The trio’s combined share stood at 24.7 percent in the first quarter of this year, down 1.3 percentage points from 26 percent a year ago, according to SNE Research, a market research firm spe
The South Korean government won a five-year dispute at the World Trade Organization (WTO) over the unfairness of a U.S. safeguard on washing machines.The WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) adopted a panel report in favor of South Korea in the washer safeguard dispute between the United States and Sou
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at kyuha.lee@nhqv.com -- Ed.In March, global smartphone sales continued to fall y-y. But, the pace of slowdown narrowed in China, and sales volume remained impressive for Apple. Moving ahead, demand is to gradually improve on
The author is an analyst for Shinhan Securities. He can be reached at sokang@shinhan.com --- Ed.1Q23 review: Record-high platform service sales, recovery in costs AfreecaTV registered operating profit of KRW18.4bn (-20.5% YoY, +19% QoQ, operating margin of 25.3%) on sales of KRW72.7bn (-3.4% YoY, -9
The author is an analys of Shinhan Securities. He can be reached at jinmyung.lee93@shinhan.com -- Ed.1Q23 OP exceeds market expectations at KRW791bn (+314% QoQ)LG Chem posted operating profit of KRW791bn (+314% QoQ) for 1Q23, beating the market consensus of KRW648.1bn. The company reported sharp gro
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at kyuha.lee@nhqv.com -- Ed.Achieves impressive OP growth despite sluggish demandDespite an overall slowdown in global IT device demand, LG Electronics (LGE) achieved sound earnings in 1Q23 thanks to cost reduction, B2B busine
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at neul.ha@nhqv.com -- Ed.At Tapex, full-fledged top-line growth is anticipated following production line expansion in 2H23. We expect the firm to benefit from a blossoming of the 4680 cylindrical battery market. Tapex looks s
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. She can be reached at jiyoony@nhqv.com -- Ed.LG H&H’s consolidated 1Q23 OP fell 17% y-y. In particular, 2Q23 earnings expectations need to be tempered towards the cosmetics division, as both the Chinese and DFS channels are performing sluggishl
LG Chem said that it will consider acquiring all of its Chinese partner’s shares in its joint venture if the joint venture is included in the list of foreign entities of concern (FEOCs) under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). This marked the first time a battery maker with joint ventures with
Hyundai Motor outperformed the other three major Korean companies -- Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and LG Electronics -- in the United States in 2022.The Korea CXO Institute, which specializes in analyzing companies, released the results of a survey on the performances of the U.S. subsidiaries of th
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at minjae.lee@nhqv.com -- Ed.Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s visit to the US should serve as a catalyst to strengthen the two countries’ SMR partnership. Elsewhere, SMR developer Holtec has signed an SMR deal with Ukraine’s E
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at kyuha.lee@nhqv.com -- Ed.With 1H23 earnings sluggishness already reflected, time to focus on earnings improvement in 2H23LG Innotek (LGI)’s earnings are forecast to remain lackluster in 1H23, owing to weak smartphone sales
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at minwoo.ju@nhqv.com -- Ed.Earnings forecasts are likely to be raised further upon the announcement of additional US capacity expansions within the year. In 2026, US capacity is set to reach 290GWh, exceeding guidance by more
The author is an analyst of Shinhan Securities. He can be reached at snowKH@shinhan.com -- Ed.1Q23 OP comes in at KRW145.3bn (-60% YoY, -15% QoQ)LG Innotek posted operating profit of KRW145.3bn (-60% YoY, -15% QoQ) on sales of KRW4.4tr (+11% YoY, -33% QoQ) for 1Q23, slightly exceeding the market con