Samsung, LG each rank No. 1 in semiconductor and household appliances

Samsung Electronics recorded the world’s highest sales of 94 trillion won in semiconductors last year, beating Intel in three years. LG Electronics also beat the Whirlpool Corporation in household appliances last year, taking the No. 1 position in the world for the first time.

Samsung Electronics announced on Thursday that its sales reached 279.6 trillion won last year, up 18.1 percent from the previous year. It is the company’s highest record so far. Its operating profit recorded 51.63 trillion won during the same year, up 43.5% from the previous year, which is the third-highest figure following 58.89 trillion won in 2018 and 53.65 trillion won in 2017. The semiconductor sales of the company were at 94.16 trillion won last year.

Meanwhile, Intel, which is in competition with Samsung Electronic in the global semiconductor market, announced on Thursday that its sales last year were 79 billion dollars. Applying the average won-dollar exchange rate last year of 1,144.6 won per dollar, Samsung’s sales were 82.3 billion dollars, which is higher than Intel’s.

LG Electronics earned its record-high sales of 74.72 trillion won last year. The sales of H&A business division in charge of household appliances was 27.11 trillion won, which is the highest in the world, beating its competitor Whirlpool Corporation.


Choong-Hyun Song balgun@donga.com