LG Chem, South Korea’s leading chemical firm by sales, saw its net profit jump nearly 40 percent on-year in the first three months this year thanks to increased margins in petrochemical raw materials.

The firm’s first quarter net profit stood at 338.1 billion won, up 37.3 percent from the same period last year, LG Chem said in its earnings report Thursday. 

Compared to the previous quarter, net profit was up 63.3 percent.

Quarterly revenue stood at 4.9 trillion won, down 0.8 percent year-on-year with its operating profit coming in at 457.7 billion won, up 26.5 percent on-year.

The company said better margins in petrochemical raw materials helped drive the increase in profits.

The raw materials business segment posted 466.2 billion won in operating profit, up 45.1 percent on-year despite that sales declined 2.7 percent on-year to 3.5 trillion won.

“The raw materials business will continue to gain traction with increasing demand in the second quarter, and LG Chem will be able to maintain its competitive edge thanks to stable margins and high value-added products.” said Park Chang-seon, a spokesman for the firm.

On the downside, LG Chem’s information technology and electronic materials arm logged an operating loss of 8 billion won and 627.2 billion won in sales, down 7.2 percent compared to the same period last year.

The firm cited sagging global demand, along with seasonal factors in the car and energy storage system segments.

LG Chem’s battery business was also hit hard by a drop in sale prices, causing it to post an operating loss of 300 million won, with sales standing at 814 billion won, up 15.3 percent on-year.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)