Seoul, South Korea – LG Electronics reported strong sales and net income due to good performances across of its divisions during the fourth quarter.
Net profit was $674 million for the quarter ended Dec. 31, a whopping 1168 percent gain, thanks in part to the performance of LG.Philips, of which it holds a 37.9 percent stake. Parent basis sales were $6.38 billion, up 11 percent compared with the previous fourth quarter.
At the operating level sales were up 12 percent to $11.9 billion during the quarter compared to the same time last year, and net profit was $674 billion
In its mobile communication unit sales were $3.31 billion, up 10.3 percent from the 2006 fourth quarter. Its handsets sales reached $3.17 billion, up 12.2 percent from a year earlier. Shipment of handsets recorded the highest in unit sales as well, a total of 23.7 million. Its operating profit margin improved to 8.8 percent in the handset division, due to higher premium model portion and better cost competitiveness. The outlook for a quarter ahead continues to be bright in mobile handset unit sales and profits, and LG is expecting growth centered on emerging markets, the company said.
Digital display unit sales jumped to the company’s quarterly historic high of $4.31 billion which is a 24.1 percent increase from a year earlier, powered by a rise in sales of plasma and LCD digital TVs.
Operating loss was lowered to $12 million, primarily due to a sales surge of flat-panel TVs and improvement in PDP modules from robust 32-inch lineups. LG is expecting price cuts in the 40-inches-plus flat-panel TV market and it expects the Beijing Olympic Games will boost the demand in 2008. It also expects the launch of slim size and innovative design based plasma and LCD digital TVs will drive the company’s strong growth, LG said.
Sales from the Digital Media Company reduced 4.1 percent on year to $1.55 billion, but operating profit and margin posted $29 million and 1.9 respectively, due to strong sales of media products.
