South Korea’s LS Electric recorded a sale revenue of KRW64 billion ($48.6 million) from its Vietnamese subsidiary in the first half of this year, up 39% year-on-year.
The firm's Q2 revenue in Vietnam was KRW37 billion ($28.1 million), up 59% year-on-year, according to its financial result.
Operating profit in Vietnam reached KRW5 billion ($3.8 million) in the first half of this year, much higher than KRW2 billion ($1.52 million) for the whole year of 2022.
The Vietnamese subsidiary accounted for 18.5% of the operating profits of all LS Electric’s overseas and non-electric subsidiaries at KRW27 billion ($20.5 million) in January-June.
Globally, LS Electric gained an operating profit of KRW105 billion ($79.7 million) on a sale revenue of KRW1,202 billion ($912.3 million) in Q2/2023, up 75% and 36.7% year-on-year, respectively.
Previewing Q3 operation, LS Electric noted it would expand to the low-priced and medium-priced power device market in Vietnam.
Entering Vietnam in 1997 with a factory in Hanoi, LS Electric is among the “first generation” of South Korean companies to invest in the Southeast Asian nation. The firm then relocated its facilities to the neighboring province of Bac Ninh in October 2022 with a $20 million factory. The three-hectare facility in Yen Phong Industrial Park is expected to improve annual production from $25 million to $40 million, and reach $100 million in 2030.
As Vietnam begins to move away from labor-intensive sectors such as garments and textiles, the country will see increasing demand for low-voltage power equipment, LS Electricity said.