LG Electronics CEO Cho Joo-wan speaks during a meeting with reporters at the IFA 2024 consumer electronics show in Berlin, Friday (local time). Courtesy of LG Electronics

BERLIN — LG Electronics CEO Cho Joo-wan acknowledged that the company remains undervalued in the market and vowed to intensify his efforts to engage more closely with investors.

During a meeting with reporters on the sidelines of the IFA 2024 exhibition in Berlin, Friday (local time), the CEO said he has been focusing on communicating with investors and shareholders about LG's strong earnings, but acknowledged that the company has not been successful in fully convincing them.

"These days, LG is fully committed to improving its corporate value," Cho said. "We know that buoying the share price is not easy, but at the same time we're also reflecting on whether we've been proactive enough in our communication with investors and shareholders."

LG Electronics' share price peaked at 180,000 won in January 2021 but has since declined, trading below 100,000 won for the past month.

To reverse the downtrend, Cho engaged with shareholders at this year's annual general meeting in March and visited investors in the U.S. in May. Chief Financial Officer Kim Chang-tae will also meet investors in Singapore to promote progresses in the company's businesses.

After visiting the IFA exhibition, Cho flew to London on Monday to host a non-deal roadshow for overseas investors. It will be the first time an LG CEO has hosted an investor meeting specifically for a European audience.

"I plan to meet with as many investors and analysts as possible to draw their attention by providing updates on how our business is progressing, what kind of business we want to pursue, and what are the steps we are taking to achieve transformation," Cho said.

"Despite being considered as a mature industry, LG has achieved over 10 percent growth in its home appliance business over the past few years, while recording an operating profit margin close to 10 percent. Since the company's business-to-business operation accounts for 35 percent of total revenues, LG is resilient from fluctuations in demand and prices. There are many investors who are unaware of these facts, so we're working to transparently communicate these lesser-known achievements and encourage a more accurate evaluation of our shares."

Cho also noted that discussions are underway with major global tech firms. He mentioned that these tech giants view companies with a diverse range of devices as key potential partners and are exploring business opportunities with LG, leveraging its devices and customer usage data.

"I recently attended Microsoft's CEO Summit and later had a one-on-one meeting with Satya Nadella, Microsoft's CEO, on a separate occasion," Cho said. "We discussed how the two sides can effectively leverage AI and expand potential applications." He noted that he also met Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon in July and discussed ways to realize AI in the automotive parts sector.

LG Electronics CEO Cho Joo-wan gestures during his visit to the company's booth at the IFA 2024 consumer electronics show in Berlin, Friday (local time). Courtesy of LG Electronics

Indian unit IPO

Regarding his previous remarks that the company is mulling the initial public offering (IPO) of its Indian unit as an option, Cho reiterated that "we have yet to make an official decision and still see it as one of the options we can consider."

"We are still monitoring the situation and analyzing the case of a Korean company's IPO bid for its Indian unit," he said, referring to Hyundai Motor's $3 billion IPO bid of its Indian unit.

"As you may know, LG holds the No. 1 market share in every single product in India," Cho said. "We have long been the go-to brand in the Indian market, and our vision goes beyond this to become a national brand in India. To fulfill this vision, we are tapping into various options."