LG Electronics reported a small increase in revenues and operating profit for the third quarter, due mainly to growth in its home appliances business. The mobile phone business remained deeply in the red, with sales sharply lower.
Total revenues rose 1.8 percent year-on-year to KRW 15.70 trillion (USD 13.15 billion), and operating profit rose 4.4 percent to KRW 781 billion. Net profit declined to KRW 346 billion from KRW 497 billion in Q3 2018, hurt by losses on associate companies.
Home appliances revenue was up 10 percent to KRW 5.33 trillion, and it was the only division to grow operating profit on an annual basis. Home entertainment also showed a small increase of 3.5 percent in revenue, to KRW 3.87 trillion.
At the mobile division, revenues fell 24.5 percent year-on-year and were down by 5.6 percent from the second quarter to KRW 1.52 trillion. The operating loss widened to KRW 161 billion from KRW 144 billion a year ago, but was less than the KRW 313 billion loss reported in Q2 on costs to relocate production.
LG said it suffered from the overall weak smartphone market, lower sales of both premium and mass LTE devices and delays in 5G upgrades in the North American market. The pressure is expected to continue in Q4 due to pricing pressure around the holidays and increased competition in Korea after phone subsidy rules were tightened. The company plans to focus on its new premium devices but warned operating losses will grow in Q4 due to the higher year-end marketing costs and product launches.
