Banking on LTE, marketing costs put LG U+ in the red

LG U+, the nation’s No. 3 mobile carrier, said yesterday it shifted to the red in the third quarter from a year earlier due to increased spending on the faster long-term evolution (LTE) network.

Its net loss totaled 38.4 billion won ($35.2 million) in the July-September period, reversing from a 56.6 billion won profit a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. The net loss also widened from 32.1 billion won three months earlier.

Sales jumped 19.1 percent on-year to 2.8 trillion won, but operating losses reached 6.1 billion won, plunging from a 95 billion won profit the previous year.

The weaker bottom line was attributed to increased investments for the LTE network and a rise in marketing costs to attract subscribers to the faster service.

LG, the smallest of the country’s three mobile carriers, has been ramping up efforts to catch up with its bigger rivals through the rapidly growing LTE market.

Yonhap