By Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee SEOUL (Reuters) -Battery maker LG Energy Solution (LGES) said on Monday its third-quarter operating profit likely rose 34% as U.S. consumers rushed to buy electric vehicles to take advantage of government incentives that expired on September 30. The South Korean company, which supplies EV batteries to General Motors and Tesla, estimated its operating profit was 601 billion won ($420 million) during the July to September period, up from 448 billion won in profit a year earlier. The preliminary figure beat a 528 billion won profit forecast compiled by LSEG SmartEstimate that was weighted toward analysts who are more consistently accurate. Its profit may have been boosted by the surge in U.S. EV sales ahead of the end of a $7,500 federal tax credit in September, analysts said. LGES warned in July of a further slowdown in EV demand by early next year due to the elimination of the tax credits as well as U.S. import tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump's administration. LGES shares were up 1.5% in a wider market that was down 1.4%. The company would have made a 236 billion won operating profit excluding U.S. battery manufacturing incentives it received under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, the company said in a regulatory filing. LGES will release detailed earnings on October 30. ENERGY STORAGE, GEORGIA RAID LGES has tried to boost production of batteries for energy storage systems (ESS) to offset sluggish EV demand and improve profits in the second half of this year. The company has signed a $4.3 billion deal to supply Tesla with energy storage system batteries, as the U.S. automaker looks to reduce reliance on Chinese imports due to tariffs. In September, LGES suffered a setback with its joint battery factory with Hyundai Motor in the United States. Construction has been suspended in the wake of an immigration raid on the Georgia facility in early September that led to the arrest of hundreds of South Korean workers. Hyundai Motor CEO Jose Munoz said last month the factory was facing a minimum startup delay of two to three months after the raid. LGES said early this month that it would gradually resume U.S. business trips for its employees and subcontractors, a day after the Trump administration agreed to allow South Koreans to work on equipment at U.S. sites under existing temporary visas. ($1 = 1,429.9300 won) (Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee; Editing by Kim Coghill and Jamie Freed)
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