14 DAY TRIAL // LG Electronics, a leading provider of consumer electronics and mobile communications technology, has announced recently its financial results for the fourth quarter of last year. The company posted sales and operating profit on a global basis 22.5 percent higher than the same time frame a year before, up to $9.82 billion and $74.16 million, respectively. According to the manufacturer, these resulted in a profit margin of 0.8 percent.
LG also announced that it registered $4.84 billion in sales, which translated into operating loss of $228 million and net loss of $493 million. The company's annual sales went up 20.8 percent on a global basis, to $36.22 billion, and it registered operating profit of $1.56 billion. Consolidated operating profit was $2.97 billion, with a 6.4 percent margin, 1.1 percent higher than in 2007.
The company announced that sales of its Mobile Communication Company soared up to $3.3 billion, registering a growth of 34.6 percent compared to the previous year. Handset sales were $3.0 billion, 40.3 percent higher on year and up 16.5 percent sequentially. The year on year growth of handset shipments was 8 percent higher, up to a total of $25.7 million. During 2008, the company managed to ship 100.7 million units, while in 2007 only 80.5 million units.
LG also stated that the sales were good in Europe and Asia, although affected by the economic downturn. The company released in Europe its “Renoir,” “Cookie” and “LG-KS360” models, while in Asia the sales on the Indian market kept the performance strong. The company registered an operating profit margin of 5.2 percent in the handset division, with an 8.8 percent drop on year and an 11.5 percent decline on quarter.
2009 is expected to be a difficult year, yet LG aims at a constant growth for its businesses, while also expecting to be able to expand its market share. The company states that the segments of the market it plans on focusing on are feature-packed premium models, smartphones and mid-to-low-end mass volume units.