LG Electronics has announced its highest-ever fourth quarter earnings – just three months after it announced its highest-ever third quarter earnings.
Global sales for Q4 2009 (including LG’s overseas subsidiaries) rose 6.8% to 14.3 trillion Korean Won (£7.6 billion) year-on-year. Operating profit was up to KRW 446.7 billion (£238 million). Annual sales for 2009 were up 12.5% to a company record-high level of KRW 55.5 trillion (£29.5 billion) with operating profit of KRW 2.9 trillion (£1.5 billion).
The LG Mobile business reported worldwide sales of KRW 4.2 trillion (£2.2 billion), 7.4% down year-on-year. Handset revenues were KRW 3.9 trillion (£2.1 billion), a 5% year-on-year decline, while operating profit reached KRW 66.5 billion (£35 million). Unit shipments of handsets saw an increase of 32% year-on-year and 7% percent quarter-on-quarter to 33.9 million units, which resulted in a record 117.9 million units being sold in 2009 versus 100.7 million units in 2008. Price erosion and an increase in marketing expenses for year-end inventory clearance and emerging market channel expansion were blamed for lower profitability compared to the third quarter. Yearly sales in the mobile sector increased 13.5% to KRW 18.2 trillion (£9.7 billion), with the handset division seeing an increase of 17.3% year-on-year to KRW 17.1 trillion (£9.1 billion).