Record Smartphone Shipments Help LG To Profitable Quarter

LG enjoyed a massive increase in revenues thanks to the company’s largest ever quarter of smartphone shipments.

The South Korean manufacturer reported an 87 percent increase in profits from a year ago, helped significantly by the highest performance from its mobile unit in five years as the company look to compete with the likes of Samsung and Apple.

Spurred on in particular by positive reception of its G3 smartphone (pictured below), the unit shifted nearly 17 million smartphones during the last three months – 37 percent higher than the previous year and its highest since the third quarter of 2009.

This helped it to record an operating profit of 167 billion won ($167.4 million), compared with a 79.7 billion won loss a year ago.

Profitable

Overall, net profit for the past quarter amounted to 202.6 billion won ($193 million), up 87 percent from a year ago, while operating profit also jumped 112 percent to reach 461.3 billion won ($449.61 million). Sales rose seven percent to 14.9 trillion won.

Elsewhere, the company, which is the world’s second-largest television manufacturer behind Samsung, saw its TV business increase operating profits by five percent to 130.5 billion won, thanks mainly to the continued growth of high-end units.

Samsung, which is also based in South Korea, is expected to announce a major shortfall in its third quarter results later this week following the government’s decision to cap handset subsidies. The move was meant to offer buyers more certainty about prices but has dented sales, with LG saying that demand for new smartphones in South Korea will stay subdued.

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