The size of materials and supplies LG Electronics purchased for product production in the first half of this year increased by more than 1 trillion won from the same period last year. Prices of key materials and supplies such as semiconductor chips and copper rose sharply.
According to the semiannual report LG Electronics disclosed on the 14th, the first-half materials and supplies purchases for the four LG Electronics business divisions, excluding LG Innotek, totaled 15.3091 trillion won, up 1.2656 trillion won (9.0%) from 14.0435 trillion won in the first half of last year.
By business division, the HS Division, which handles home appliances, had the largest materials and supplies purchases at 5.6351 trillion won. The MS Division, which is in charge of TV and information technology (IT) products, recorded 5.5658 trillion won; the VS Division, which oversees vehicle components, had 3.5726 trillion won; and the ES Division, which handles heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), posted 535.6 billion won.
The VS Division saw the largest increase. Its purchases grew by 701.7 billion won (24.4%) from the first half of last year. The MS Division rose by 475 billion won (9.3%), and the ES Division increased by 101.8 billion won (23.5%). The HS Division decreased by 12.9 billion won (0.2%).
Prices of major materials and supplies also climbed. The average price of semiconductor chips used in video devices such as TVs rose 37.4% in the first half of this year compared with 2025. Display panels used in in-vehicle infotainment products increased 3.8%, and automotive chips rose 0.7%.
Copper prices used in home appliances and HVAC also saw large increases. The average copper price used by the HS Division rose 32.6% from 2025, and copper prices for the ES Division climbed 27.9%. Prices of image sensors used in LG Innotek's camera modules also rose 4.1%.
Steel prices, on the other hand, fell. The HS Division's average steel price decreased 4.6%, and the ES Division's fell 6.6%. LCD module prices also dropped 1.4%.