Seoul, South Korea — Increased sales of display products, such as DTV and PDP, helped the display and media segment of LG Electronics achieve higher sales in 2004, but slightly decreased sales in the fourth quarter, ending Dec. 31.
The company’s display and media business, mainly consumer electronics, grew 6.9 percent in the 12 months, compared with 2003, reaching $8.8 billion. The increase was due primarily to strong sales of digital TV, PDP and optical storage, said LGE. The segment’s operating profit for the 12 months was $280.4 million.
Fourth-quarter CE segment sales, however, edged downward 1 percent to $2.3 billion, compared with a year earlier, due to a reduction in LG’s personal computer OEM business. In the fourth quarter, DTV sales, mainly PDP/LCD televisions, increased 55 percent year-on-year, said LG, while PDP module sales surged 68 percent, compared with the previous year.
Steady handset sales in North America and Europe helped LG’s mobile-communications segment post record fourth-quarter export sales, hitting $2.3 billion, a 15.7 percent climb over the same three months in 2003. Total handset sales for the 12 months climbed 61.1 percent year-on-year to $8.1 billion, with unit sales increasing 61.8 percent to 44 million handsets.
For the 12 months, mobile communications segment sales increased 56.6 percent to $9 billion. The total sales amount has increased more than 45 percent over the last five years.
Branded premium major appliance products led the sales charge in overseas markets, said LG, with the company’s majap segment recording a 14.4 percent fourth-quarter increase to $4.1 billion. Annual majap segment sales climbed 10 percent, reaching $6 billion, with an operating profit of $434.6 million.
Consolidated LG 12-months sales jumped 22.2 percent, year-over-year, despite a sluggish economy in South Korea, hitting $23.9 billion. Operating profit increased to $1.2 billion, while net profit rose to $1.5 billion.
