Q1 2016 likely to be LG's best quarter in two years

LG has released the official earnings guidance for the January-March quarter, and the numbers reveal that Q1 2016 could well be the best quarter for the South Korean company in the last couple of years.

As per the guidance, the company's operating profit for the quarter jumped 66% to 505 billion KRW ($441 million). This is the company's best since Q2 2014 and is well above the 408 billion figure analysts suggested. The forecasted revenue for Q1 2016, however, was 13.4 trillion KRW, down 4.5% year-on-year.

The boost in last quarter's earnings is being attributed to growth in sales of products manufactured by LG's appliances division, as well as high-end products like organic LED TVs. The company's mobile business, however, is expected to be in red for the third quarter in a row.

As for the next quarter, all eyes are now on the company's latest flagship smartphone - the G5, which was launched late last month. If the device turns out be a success, analysts are expecting a record quarterly operating profit of more than 600 billion KRW for Q2 2016.

The complete Q1 2016 financial report will be released later this month.

Via