SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korean battery firm LG Energy Solution on Friday warned of a slowdown in demand due to U.S. tariffs and policy uncertainties after it posted a quarterly profit jump.
LGES, which supplies Tesla, General Motors and Volkswagen among other automakers, said its operating profit more than doubled in the second quarter, partly due to front-loaded demand as some customers stockpiled batteries ahead of potential U.S. tariffs.
It reported an operating profit of 492 billion won ($358.73 million) for the April-June period, versus a 195 billion won profit a year earlier.
That compared with a 298 billion won average forecast by LSEG SmartEstimate, which is weighted toward analysts who are more consistently accurate.
LGES would have made a 1.4 billion won operating profit excluding a tax credit it received under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, LGES said in a regulatory filing.
LGES Shares were down 1.9% after the earnings announcement.
Its customers such as GM and Tesla are bracing for further fallout from U.S. tariffs and an additional slowdown in demand for electric vehicles.
The United States passed legislation to end federal subsidies for EV purchases on September 30.
($1 = 1,371.5000 won)
(Reporting by Heekyong Yang and Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Tom Hogue)
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