South Korea’s LG Electronics has posted a fourth-quarter loss of KRW468 billion (US$429 million) which reflects a fine related to the cathode-ray tube pricing issues imposed by the European Commission in December. Fourth quarter 2012 consolidated revenues were KRW 13.50 trillion.
The LG Mobile Communications Company reported a 7 percent unit increase quarter-on-quarter in mobile handset shipments to 15.4 million with more than half of the units coming from smartphones.
Smartphone shipments grew 23 percent compared to the previous quarter, increasing to 8.6 million devices from the 7 million in the third quarter. Fourth quarter revenues were the highest of the year, growing 15 percent to KRW 2.81 trillion (US$2.58 billion) quarter-on-quarter. Sales of premium LTE smartphones such as Optimus G and Vu:2 increased in the fourth quarter, as did the L-series and Google Nexus 4.
With more European and emerging markets introducing LTE services this year, LG plans to increase smartphone revenues and market share by launching follow-up devices to Optimus G and the L-series as well as the new F-series.
The LG Home Entertainment Company reported record sales of flat-panel TVs with 9.3 million units in the fourth quarter resulting in a 17.4 percent revenue increase quarter-on-quarter to KRW 6.44 trillion (US$5.91 billion) and full-year operating profit of KRW 542 billion (US$480.92 million).
The LG Home Appliance Company posted almost flat revenues year-on-year, with sales of KRW 2.94 trillion (US$2.7 billion) in the fourth quarter as strong sales in the U.S. and CIS countries were largely offset by sluggish demand in Europe, the Middle East and Latin America.
The LG Air Conditioning & Energy Solutions Company reported sales of KRW 683 billion (US$626 million) in the fourth quarter, essentially unchanged year-on-year. An operating loss of KRW 11 billion (US$10.08 million) in the quarter showed improvement from the same period last year due to operational efficiencies.
2013 Business Direction
For 2013, LG Electronics is targeting a revenue goal of KRW 53.5 trillion with plans to spend KRW 2.5 trillion in capital expenditures.
