LG's Bulging Sales
The electronics giant increases operational profit
in 3rd qtr, rising 94 pct from previous one
LG Electronics Co. announced its third quarter operational record recently, showing the company's total sales during the period amounted to 6.18 trillion won, including 4.56 trillion won in exports and 1.45 trillion won in domestic sales.
The electronic giant said its operational profit reached 279 billion won and net profit 156 billion won. The company said total sales fell 1.5 percent from a year earlier due to the strength of the U.S. dollar, but actually the sales expanded 7.2 percent from the preceding quarter due to increased sales of terminal and display products. The operational profit fell somewhat compared to the same period a year ago, but it jumped 94.5 percent from the preceding quarter totaling 279 billion won due to improved profits related to the sales of terminals and display products.
The mobile communication sector saw its sales jump 31 percent on a year-on-year basis due to increased sales in North America and India, in particular with the operating profit rising 5 percent.
The digital appliance sector saw its operating profit rise by 17.7 percent due to increased sales in North America. The digital device sector saw its sales and operating profit jump 13 percent and 19.5 percent respectively. The digital media sector saw its sales down due to cuts in the prices of its products, but its operating profit rose 33.5 percent from the same period last year and 93.3 percent from the preceding quarter due to increased profitability brought on by the introduction of new models of PC and AV.
In the meantime, ordinary profit reached 128 billion won. The mobile communication sector saw its third quarter sales to reach 2.54 trillion won with operating profit of 127 billion won at a 5 percent profit rate. The sale of cell phones totaled 15.5 million units, up 31 percent from the same period last year and 28 percent from the preceding quarter. The sale of CDMA phones jumped 44 percent from the same period last year with the sale of GSM phones rising 24 percent due to hefty sales in Europe and the expansion of new markets.
The mobile communication sector plans to upgrade its brand image by launching sales of its DMB phones and other premium-class products at domestic market in the fourth quarter and strengthen its marketing overseas, especially in North America to increase its fourth quarter sales. The company also plans to expand its GSM phone market overseas, in particular Europe and CIS countries by introducing new products. The digital appliance sector recorded 1.32 trillion won in the third quarter sales, down 6 percent from the same period last year, but its operating profit jumped 17.7 percent from the same period last year at 90.4 billion won. The sector recorded an 8 percent increase in the sale of home appliances ranging from air cons to refrigerators totaling 574 billion won, but the exports of home appliances including drum washers, commercial air cons, and three-door refrigerators fell 15 percent from the same period last year due largely to the strengthened U.S. dollar set at 748 billion won.
The company plans to strengthen its marketing efforts for those products abroad in the fourth quarter to increase their exports and upgrade their profitability, especially at Home Depot in the United States, which signed a cooperative tie-up with LG Electronics to see its sales of LG refrigerators rise. The digital display sector saw its third quarter sales record 1.32 trillion won, up 13 percent from the same period last year, due largely to strong sales of PDP/LCD TV, and PDP modules. The sales of PDP/LCD TV jumped 48 percent recording 300 billion won, while exports rose 19 percent actually, but only 6 percent rise due to the foreign exchange rate translation loss, totaling 1.19 trillion won. In the case of digital TVs, sales of PDP/LCD TVs rose 54 percent and 267 percent respectively in the third quarter from the same period last year while the shipment of PDP modules increased 140 percent compared to the same period last year. nw

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