14 DAY TRIAL // LG has posted its financial results for the third quarter of this year and they’re not encouraging. The company revealed a slight 3.7% loss in overall operating profit compared to last year, caused by poor performance of its smartphones on the market.
It seems that during July and September, LG generated $250.9 million in profits, half compared to its results for the second quarter of the year. During the same quarter of last year, LG reported a profit of $257 million, and it seems that its mobile business isn’t improving. The company’s operating profit dropped 51.6% compared to the previous quarter of 2016.
Revenue for the third quarter declined 5.7% year-on-year and LG’s mobile division posted an operating loss of about $405 million, making it the sixth consecutive quarter when the smartphone business posts losses.
In the fourth quarter, LG will focus on boosting sales of the V20
LG officials stated that "lower sales of premium devices and expenses related to business structure improvement activities" have led to the third quarter loss in its smartphone business.
LG intends to focus on increasing sales of its latest flagship smartphone in the final quarter of this year, which stretches from October to December. Aside from boosting V20 sales, LG will also focus on mass-tier K and X series and on completing business structural improvements in the mobile division.
The V20 was announced in early September and pre-orders went live a while after. The smartphone has just recently been made available at third-party retailers and US carriers. The V20 does offer powerful specs and it's likely that it will be a hit for the company. Sales of this smartphone will be reflected in financial results for the last quarter of this year.
It seems that LG’s other businesses are doing better than the mobile division; the home appliance division and TV division both posted operating profits.