LG announced today its second-quarter earnings of KRW15.23 trillion ($13.6 billion) in revenue, up 10.1 percent year-over-year due to sales increases in most of its business units — and in particular its mobile phone business.
The company’s mobile unit shipped 12.1 million smartphones during the April-June period, the highest-ever quarterly figure throughout its history, and recorded revenue of KRW3.12 trillion ($2.78 billion), up 34.5 percent from the same period a year earlier.
However, the company’s net profit of KRW156 billion ($139.04 million) was down slightly by 7.7 percent from the same period a year ago — though it improved significantly from the previous quarter.
LG’s mobile business bucked the trend though — its operating profit rose year-on-year to KRW61 billion ($54.37 million) but declined from the previous quarter, hit by weaker demand in the Korean market, intense competition resulting in lower selling prices, as well as more investment in marketing.
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The company said it expects shipments from mass-market smartphone models such as L-Series II and F-Series to drive the growth of sales, and high-end products such as G Pro and LG G2 to increase its product competitiveness.
LG’s high-end Optimus G Pro, which boasts a 5.5-inch 1080p display, passed the 1 million sales figure in its home turf of South Korea last month, a month slower than the Samsung Galaxy Note II. The phone was scheduled to be made available across Asia in June.
LG looks set to introduce its next flagship smartphone, the G2, in New York on August 7. The phone will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, which blitzes the competition and includes impressive multimedia specs. It will also support LTE-Advanced (the zippy 4G service currently available only in Korea).
Image Credit: David Becker via Getty Images
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