LG Electronics said Wednesday its first quarter earnings
shrank compared to the previous quarter as its TV business
was slow, despite a recovery in its mobile operations.
LG said it shipped 10.3 million smartphones between January
and March, the highest for LG since it entered the
smartphone race.
First-quarter operating profit of KRW 350 billion (USD
322.88 million) and net profit of KRW 22 billion (USD 20.30
million) declined somewhat from the same period last year.
However, revenues in the first quarter rose 6.8 percent
year-over-year to KRW 14.10 trillion (USD 13.01 billion)
mainly due to the improved performance of the mobile
business.
LG's Home Entertainment company revenues of KRW 5.17 trillion
(USD 4.77 billion) declined year-on-year due to lower sales
of plasma TVs and IT products. Sales of LCD TVs increased in
Europe and developing markets such as China and CIS from the
same period last year. Operating profit of KRW 30 billion
(USD 27.68 million), although lower than last year,
increased compared to the previous quarter. Although TV and
IT market will continue to be stagnant , LG expects stronger
results with the rollout of new 3D Smart TVs and ULTRA HD
TVs.
LG Mobile Communications company results improved
significantly in the first quarter, recording revenues of
KRW 3.21 trillion (USD 2.96 billion) on smartphone shipments
of 10.3 million units, an increase in revenue of 28.5
percent from the same period last year. Healthy sales of LTE
smartphones such as the Optimus G and Optimus G Pro along
with 3G smartphones including the Optimus L Series and Nexus
4 contributed to the improved results. Operating profit
increased almost four-fold from the same period last year to
KRW 133 billion (USD 122.69 million) thanks to stronger
revenue and better cost structure. The company expects to
further increase shipments and sales in the second quarter
with the worldwide rollout of Optimus L SeriesII targeting
3G markets with the 5.5-inch Full HD IPS Optimus G Pro and
Optimus F Series in countries with 4G LTE networks.