(LEAD) LG Electronics Q3 net profit up 53.7 pct on new businesses

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By Kim Han-joo

SEOUL, Oct. 28 (Yonhap) -- LG Electronics Inc. said Wednesday its third-quarter net profit jumped 53.7 percent from a year earlier, driven by solid growth in its core home appliance and TV businesses and new businesses, such as robotics and cooling solutions for artificial intelligence (AI) data centers.

Net profit came to 708.4 billion won (US$527.8 million) for the July-September period, the South Korean consumer electronics maker said.

Operating profit rose to 781.9 billion won from 688.9 billion won a year earlier, while sales increased 8.9 percent on-year to 23.82 trillion won.

For 2026, sales came to 71.38 trillion won, while operating profit was at 4.03 trillion won, marking record highs.

LG Electronics said its core businesses maintained solid growth despite a challenging external environment, including the war in the Middle East, while emerging businesses, such as robotics and AI data center cooling solutions, contributed to overall growth.

LG Electronics said it plans to build on the competitiveness of its core businesses to expand future growth engines, including AI data center cooling solutions and robotics.

Its robotics business, a key area of physical AI, has begun partial operations at what the company described as South Korea's largest data factory.

Its AI home solutions business is also working with global technology companies to build an ecosystem based on the latest Internet of Things (IoT) technologies.

In the fourth quarter, LG Electronics plans to pursue growth in business-to-business operations, subscription services and online sales, while responding to external uncertainties by diversifying its supply chain and improving operational efficiency.

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