LG Electronics reported improved results for the fourth quarter, led by its premium TV business, and said it expects sales growth to continue in Q1. The company also reduced losses its mobile phone business on stable shipments.
Total revenues rose 14.8 percent year-on-year to KRW 16.96 trillion, and the operating result moved to a profit of KRW 367 billion from a loss of KRW 35 billion a year ago. The net result was a profit of KRW 183 billion versus a loss of KRW 259 billion in Q4 2016.
Sales growth was the strongest at the Home Entertainment division, up 14.2 percent to KRW 5.48 trillion. Mobile Communications increased revenues 2.8 percent year-on-year and 9.2 percent on a quarterly basis to KRW 3.07 trillion.
Mobile recovery
LG said mobile sales growth was led by the V30 and Google's Pixel 2 XL. The company shipped a total of 13.9 million phones in the quarter, down 1 percent year-on-year and 2 percent more than in Q3. This was not enough to move the unit back to profit, but the operating loss halved year-on-year to KRW 213 billion from KRW 459 billion. The margin was minus 7.0 percent, versus minus 13.4 percent in Q3. LG said it improved its business structure but still saw high marketing costs due to the V30 launch and an increase in component expenses.
Looking ahead, LG said it expects the price of premium smartphones to continue to increase and its aim is to strengthen its position in the premium segment. It will also work on its mid to high-end line-up to improve its sales mix and profitability in its portfolio, as well as continue to raise cost efficiency.
For the first quarter, the group expects sales to grow on an annual basis and operating profit should improve "significantly" compared to the fourth quarter. Over the full year, LG said it expects to maintain the sales growth trend and profitability.
