LG's mobile division continues to struggle amid otherwise strong 2018 financial results
It's time for full-year 2018 financial results. Samsung has already posted numbers showing less than stellar profits for its mobile division, and now its the turn of South Korea's other tech giant, LG. The story is pretty much unchanged since Q3 results came out — the company is profitable overall, but its mobile division persists in underachieving.
Full-year revenue of $54.4 billion dollars is a record for LG, with profits increasing by almost 10% to $2.4 billion. Q4 earnings of $13.99 billion exceeded the total for Q3 but came it at 7% lower than the same period in 2017, and LG is attributing this to — you've guessed it — poor smartphone sales. The home appliances division recorded its highest annual profit ever of $1.35 billion, while home entertainment performed similarly well with another record profit of equal number.
LG's mobile communications division posted a full-year operating loss of $700 million, which is an increase on 2017, but LG maintains that improvements in "material cost controls and overhead efficiencies" are beginning to take effect.
Hopes are high for better mobile performance in 2019, with 5G products and "smartphones featuring different form factors" mentioned as potential vehicles for success. That could allude to a folding phone — everyone else is doing one, so why not? An increased focus on markets where LG mobile is currently doing well is also hinted at, so that might mean more budget phones for emerging markets and less pressure on the underperforming flagships in the G and V-series.
#Google #Android #Smartphones #OS #News @ndrdnws #ndrdnws #AndroidNews
