Newsletter
LG Electronics recorded 922 billion won — approximately $816 million — in operating profit over the course of the first quarter of the year, the company’s financial release published on Wednesday revealed. The figure marks an eight-year high and is mostly attributed to the firm’s television sets and home appliances, both of which performed in an admirable manner during the three-month period that ended on March 31. The Seoul-based consumer electronics manufacturer also recorded 14.7 trillion won — just under $13 billion — in revenue in Q1 2017, a 9.7-percent increase compared to Q1 2016. While its growth of revenue is respectable, the aforementioned income figure is the definite highlight of LG’s latest financial report seeing how the company managed to record an 82-percent year-over-year increase in operating profit.
The earnings documentation published by the South Korean tech giant on Wednesday also noted that the company expects a similar revenue growth over the course of the second quarter of the year, adding that its official Q1 2017 financials are in line with its earlier guidance. Some industry watchers were surprised by LG’s strong performance during the previous quarter seeing how home appliances and TVs have proven to be the company’s main revenue generators despite the fact that neither product group traditionally enjoys strong sales in the post-holiday period of the year. In light of that fact, the Seoul-based company is expected to perform even better in the following months and will likely enjoy a rather successful fiscal year in overall.
Industry analysts also believe that LG’s mobile division will start recovering from poor performance over the course of 2017 as its recently launched G6 flagship is currently enjoying a positive reception from both critics and consumers alike, in addition to guaranteeing high margins of profit due to the fact that it’s powered by last year’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 system-on-chip (SoC) and not its significantly more expensive successor – the Snapdragon 835. None of that will amount to much if the smartphone doesn’t end up selling well, but initial market indicators are positive, some experts believe. While the company’s phone unit posted its eighth consecutive quarterly loss, it only lost $176,000 in Q1 2017 and the G6 didn’t hit the market until last month, meaning the unit might finally return to profitability in the second quarter of the year.