LG H&H weighs sale of beverage unit amid broader restructuring push

LG Household Healthcare headquarters in Jogno Seoul Yonhap — LG H&H headquarters in Jogno, Seoul/ Yonhap

SEOUL, August 28 (AJP) - LG Household & Health Care, South Korea’s leading consumer goods company, is weighing the sale of its beverage subsidiary Haitai HTB.

The company has tapped Samjong KPMG as lead adviser to evaluate options for Haitai HTB, formerly Haitai Beverage, as part of a broader review of its drinks division.

Haitai HTB, best known for its Sunkist and Cocopalm juices, generated 414 billion won ($301 million) in revenue and 3.6 billion won in operating profit last year.

LG, which acquired Haitai in full in 2010 and rebranded it six years later, reported overall beverage revenue of 1.82 trillion won in 2023, with operating profit of 168.1 billion won. The review does not extend to its Coca-Cola bottling operations, which remain a core part of its drinks portfolio.

The possible divestment comes as LG H&H faces mounting pressure from investors after posting disappointing second-quarter results.

Revenue fell 8.8 percent from a year earlier to 1.6 trillion won, while operating profit plunged 65.4 percent to 54.8 billion won, sharply missing market forecasts.

The company has also struggled in its flagship cosmetics business, where pandemic disruptions in China — once its largest overseas market — eroded growth.

While global demand for so-called K-beauty products has surged, LG H&H has failed to keep pace and has been restructuring its overseas operations.

An LG spokesperson said the company was exploring “various options,” emphasizing that no final decision had been made. “This review is not only about divestment,” the spokesperson said, “but about structural reorganization and distribution optimization across multiple fronts.”

Kim Dong-young davekim0807@ajupress.com