LG Electronics Sets Sales, Profit Records in Q1

LG Electronics yesterday said it set company record highs for sales and operating profit in the first quarter.

Korea’s second-largest electronics firm said sales in the quarter reached 11.2 trillion won, up 16.9 percent year-on-year, and operating profit 605.3 billion won, up an astounding 2,085 percent.

Strong sales of mobile handsets were the main contributor to the record earnings. Mobile communications contributed sales of 3.2 trillion won, operating profit of 444.2 billion won, an operating profit margin of 13.9 percent and unit sales of 24.4 million.

The operating profit earned by mobile phones accounted for 74.4 percent of the company’s operating profit overall.

LG, which ranked fifth in world sales of mobile phones last year, is poised to regain fourth place as first-quarter sales of Sony Ericsson is projected to remain idle at 2.2 million units. LG fell behind the Japanese firm in the second quarter of 2006.

LG’s average sale price of a mobile phone in the first quarter was 144 U.S. dollars (142,560 won), up from 140 dollars from the previous quarter.

The company said strong sales of “Viewty,” “Shine” and other high-tier flagship models and increasing exports to emerging markets helped to expand sales and profit.

LG’s digital display division also broke out of a slump through its plasma display panel sector, thanks to higher sales of flatscreen TVs and monitors. The division earned operating profit of 800 million won to break out of five consecutive quarters of deficit.

Jeong Do-hyeon, LG’s chief financial officer, said, “LG Chem and LG

Electronics have independently developed solar cell technology, but we will incorporate the two projects under the banner of LG Electronics.”

bookum90@donga.com