You can always tell when an organisation is trying to minimise a bad result, when they release them late on a Friday afternoon.

As we tipped last week LG Electronics has confirmed a shocker year over year decline with their operating profit plunging nearly 50% in the second quarter from a year earlier.

LG’s heavy dependence on the US market, which accounts for roughly 30 percent of its home appliance sales, leaves the company particularly vulnerable to tariffs, according to industry analysts.

Their latest financial hit was further exacerbated an ongoing problem at the South Korean Company.

During a recent earnings call LG said it was considering global price hikes for certain products and shifting production of some home appliances to the US in response to the new tariffs.

The result comes at a bad time with the Company facing a Federal Court case into the culture at the Australian operation after the former head of Human Resources Amanda Jackson took the CEO of the business and LG Electronics Australia to court claiming.

‘unduly bullying and harassment” by her former CEO Dan Lim who some claim is going to have a hard time moving up the ranks at LG following the revelations which are still yet to be decided on.

She has also claimed that LG Electronics Korean management, discriminates against Australians in favour of Korean employees.

Profit at the Company has been reported at US$467 million for the April-June period, marking a 46% drop from the same period last year.

Revenue slipped 4 percent on-year.

Both revenue and operating profit declined year-over-year, primarily due to continued global market softness, increased tariff burdens driven by changes in U.S. trade policy, and intensified competition claims management.

Rising costs, including logistics expenses, also weighed on overall profitability compared to the same period last year.

The Companies highly controversial Media Entertainment Solutions reported an operating loss, primarily due to lower TV sales and increased marketing spend.

However, its webOS platform-based advertising and content business continued to generate stable profits, as the Company scrapped millions of consumers smart TV operating systems for information on their private lives and then sold it to third parties.

As for future growth LG sees this coming from B2b segments such as vehicle components and HVAC systems, non-hardware businesses including subscription services and the webOS platform, and direct-to-consumer (D2C) operations via its online platform, LGE.COM.

Currently the Company openly admits they are moving to invest heavily in selling direct over selling via a retailer.