Samsung may be stumbling after posting its lowest annual profit for three years. The same can’t be said for fellow Korean company LG, which just revealed that it posted an improved $475 million profit for 2014 after shipping a total of 59.1 million smartphones, a 24 percent increase on its previous year.
LG shipped a record 16.8 million smartphones in Q3 2014 — which was its best quarter of business for five years — but its total for the final quarter of last year dipped a little to reach 15.5 million. That was still its second biggest quarter of 2014.
LG Electronics’s net profit of $474.81 million is up 125 percent year-on-year. Its growing mobile business helped pull in year-long revenue of $55.91 billion, a more modest (but stable) one percent gain on 2013. LG actually posted a net loss of $189.41 million in Q4 2014 however, due to the costs of closing its plasma TV unit.
LG’s mobile business itself reported annual sales of $14.26 billion, up 16 percent year-on-year, for 2014. Its revenue in Q4 2014 rose five percent year-on-year to reach $3.48 billion.
LG didnt break down its sales figures by devices, but the company’s flagship G3 was well received by media and it released a number of competitive mid-range devices targeting consumers in emerging markets and those who can’t afford high-end products.
Despite positive financial results LG warned that 2015 will be “a challenging year” with increased competition in the smartphone industry.
“LG will concentrate on improving its brand power, operating more efficiently, and focusing on selective key markets,” the company said.
Mobile World Congress, the phone industry’s largest trade show, is just round the corner so we don’t have long to wait before we see what products LG is betting on to continue its growth in 2015.
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