SEOUL (Reuters) -LG Energy Solution, an electric car battery supplier for Tesla and General Motors ( GM ), said on Monday its third-quarter operating profit likely rose 34% to 601 billion won ($420 million) from a year earlier.

That compared with 448 billion won in profit a year earlier and a 528 billion won profit forecast compiled by LSEG SmartEstimate that was weighted toward analysts who are more consistently accurate.

LGES would have made 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.

Its profit may have been boosted by the surge in U.S. electric car sales ahead of the end of U.S. consumer incentives of $7,500 in September, analysts said.

The company warned in July of a further slowdown in EV demand by early next year due to the elimination of the federal tax credits on EV purchases and U.S. tariffs on imports under the Trump administration.

($1 = 1,429.9300 won)