By Matthew Henry
SEOUL: LG Electronics has posted a profit in the first quarter after record mobile phone sales and a strong flat panel TV business, with overall sales up 17 per cent to KRM 11.2 trillion ($AU12.5 billion).
Sales in LG’s mobile phone division were up 33 per cent from the first quarter 2007 after the company shipped 24.4 million handsets in the period.
Flat panel TV was also a highlight for the South Korean company with sales up 32 per cent to KRW 3.05 trillion ($AU3.4 billion).
The company said it had witnessed a weakening in the US market from sub-prime crisis.
“The company’s sales in other regions including Korea, Asia, Europe and Middle East regions lead overall increase (sic),” said LG in its report.
There was also a decline in profitability was due to higher raw material prices, but with the Northern Hemisphere entering the air conditioning season, the sales and profitability outlook for coming quarter “remains bright.”