Sales of high-end televisions boost income at LG Electronics
LG ELECTRONICS, the world’s second-largest television maker, more than trebled its quarterly profit to $393m on improved margins and a pick-up in high-end TV sales, underscoring South Korea’s dominance in an industry once ruled by Japanese rivals.
LG had a more than 13 per cent share of the global television market in the fourth quarter, according to DisplaySearch, and will launch a 55-inch flat-screen TV using the latest technology in Europe next month, earlier than it had originally planned, a source familiar with the matter said. Quarterly profits from the TV division nearly doubled to 217bn won, and margins jumped to 4.1 per cent.
LG’s handset business reported a second consecutive profit, of 35bn won, after six quarterly losses, but profitability remains near breakeven as sales of its Optimus line-up failed to win customers away from the Galaxy and Apple’s iPhone.
January to March operating profit jumped to 448bn won from 131bn won a year ago.