S Korea's LS Electric subsidiaries record Vietnam sales of $21 mln in Q1

Vietnam subsidiaries of South Korea’s LS Electric recorded sales of KRW27 billion ($20.74 million) in the first quarter of 2023, up 20% year-on-year, according to the firm’s reports.

Operating profit reached KRW2 billion ($1.54 million) in the period, up 853% year-on-year.

For the whole of 2022, LS Electric’s subsidiaries in Vietnam posted an operating profit of KRW2 billion ($1.53 million) on sales of KRW106 billion ($81.17 million).

Regarding its global operations, LS Electric recorded an operating profit of KRW82 billion ($62.8 million) on sales of KRW976 billion ($747.42 million) in Q1/2023, up 41% and 246% year-on-year, respectively.

Electrical infrastructure and equipment accounted for the biggest portions of KRW256 billion ($196 million) and KRW229 billion ($175.4 million), respectively, followed by automation and renewable energy equipment.

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.

The firm has become the top business in Vietnam regarding low-voltage power equipment with a 35% market share in 2013 and about 50% at present, company data shows.

In line with Vietnam's trend of expanding renewable energy per the newly-approved national power development planning VIII (PDP VIII), LS Electric will deliver new products for large capacity DC power equipment market, such as energy storage platform, environment-friendly gas insulated switchgear, environment-friendly vegetable oil transformer, and large capacity AC power flexible transmission system.