LG Chem eyes new leap into top science company

LG Chem CEO Shin Hak-cheol (LG Chem)

LG Chem, South Korea's leading chemical company, unveiled Thursday a new vision to transform into a global top-tier science company, centering on its three business pillars -- electric mobility, sustainable materials and pharmaceuticals.

Under the new vision, it has set an ambitious goal of reaching 60 trillion won ($43.6 billion) in sales by 2030.

“LG ​​Chem has achieved more than 10 times the sales growth over the past 20 years by diversifying its business portfolio, from battery business to advanced and eco-friendly materials business and drug business,” LG Chem CEO Shin Hak-cheol said.

Despite the geopolitical risks and a recent global economic slowdown, the company will step up as a “top global science company” with a focus on maximizing customer value,” Shin added.

LG Chem said it plans to generate 40 trillion won in sales from the three growth drivers, which will account for 57 percent of the company’s total revenue. LG Chem said it will also increase its capital expenditure to over 4 trillion won in those sectors, up from 3.4 trillion won last year.

From its battery materials business alone, LG Chem expects its sales to increase to 30 trillion won by 2030, a sixfold increase from 4.7 trillion won in 2022.

LG Chem said it will boost sales growth of high-nickel cathode materials and carbon nanotubes while increasing research and development efforts in developing pure silicon anode materials and all-solid-state electrolytes.

LG Chem also plans to strengthen its leadership in the global cathode material market by establishing a global production system for cathode materials that connects Korea, China, the US and Europe, and increase their high-nickel production capacity to 470,000 metric tons in 2028, from 120,000 tons in 2023.

In addition, LG Chem will increase the proportion of its overseas clients for battery materials to 40 percent in the future, besides its subsidiary LG Energy Solutions. As part of its efforts, LG Chem signed a 2.9 trillion won contract with Toyota in October last year and a 25 trillion won contract with General Motors in February.

For its sustainability business, LG Chem aims to take the lead in the low-carbon business by accelerating the transition of its business structure around recycled, biodegradable and renewable energy materials. LG Chem’s target sales in this sector will reach 8 trillion won by 2030, up from 1.9 trillion won in 2022.

LG Chem added that the company is securing a diverse product portfolio to target the recycled plastics market, which is expected to reach 100 trillion won by 2028.

In terms of its pharmaceutical business, LG Chem’s goal is to develop five new FDA-approved drugs and generate 2 trillion won of annual sales by 2030. To this end, LG Chem plans to invest 2 trillion won over the next five years.

LG Chem is conducting preclinical and clinical studies for 20 new drug candidates. The company is also looking into developing new oncology drugs and searching for new drug substances through its acquisition of AVEO, a US company with an FDA-approved new drug Fotivda.

By Shim Woo-hyun(ws@heraldcorp.com)