High-end products help LG swing into net profit

LG Electronics said yesterday that it swung to a net profit in the first quarter of this year, aided by increased sales of value-added products.

Net profit reached 242.5 billion won ($212.5 million) in the January-March period, a sharp turnaround from a 15.7 billion won loss a year ago, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Sales declined 7.08 percent on-year to 12.2 trillion won in the three-month period with the company posting an operating profit of 448.2 billion won, a 242.5 percent surge from 130.8 billion won in the previous year.

The company said that despite the dip in sales, demand for high-end home entertainment and mobile communications and home appliances posted gains that helped the bottom line.

It also said sales of air-conditioning and energy solution systems helped the strong first-quarter bottom line.

LG Electronics painted a rosier outlook for the current quarter.

“The planned expansion of three-dimensional smart TVs and an expected rise in demand for large flat-panel displays ahead of the London Olympics should help business figures in the second quarter,” it said. Shares of LG Display ended at 77,700 won on the Seoul bourse, down 1.27 percent from Tuesday.

Yonhap