LG Electronics reported sales at its mobile communications division down 14.7 percent in the fourth quarter, to KRW 3.576 trillion. The division's operating loss widened to KRW 274 billion from KRW 6 billion a year earlier, as the company struggled to remain competitive in both smartphones and feature phones. LG shipped 30.6 million handsets in the quarter, down 10 percent from a year earlier. Despite the lower year-on-year performance, mobile revenues were up 10.9 percent from Q3 and unit shipments increased 8 percent sequentially. LG said it saw sales growth in North America, Europe and Korea, thanks to the new Optimus One, while emerging markets saw stagnant sales due to price pressure. LG forecast 8 percent volume growth for the handset market this year, to around 1.4 billion phones, thanks to the continuous expansion in smartphones. The company expects its own shipments to come in similar to 2010, but with a better mix towards smartphones. The focus will be on launching premium smartphones and differentiated tablet PC products, along with recovering cost competitiveness for feature phones. LG Electronics reported total sales for the quarter of KRW 14.4 trillion, up 1.8 percent from a year earlier, while the net result moved to a loss of KRW 256 billion from a profit of KRW 362 billion.
