LG finally earns some money from smartphones, still posts a net loss

LG posted its financial report on Q4 and full 2011 and things aren't looking particularly healthy for the Korean giant. The company did better in the holiday season then in either Q3 2011 or Q4 2010, but it still lost money and that doesn't qualify as a good performance.

The good news is that the handset division has made a small operating profit. 10 billion KRW is not much (it adds up to about $8.9 million), but it's still better than a loss and a sign that the LTE gamble is paying off.

LG put most of their eggs in the LG Optimus LTE basket (and its many carrier-specific version) and that obviously turned out enough to drag the mobile business back in the black. Unfortunately for the Koreans, the LTE market is bound to become more and more crowded, so they will need some extra effort to keep their strong position there.

In Q4 LG shipped 17.7 million phones, which is a decrease compared to Q3, but the increased share of smartphone meant that those sales actually brought in more cash. The company hopes to continue that trend as the LTE markets expand and will keep the 4G network support as the focal point of the development of their portfolio.

Follow the source link below to find out the full breakdown of the last financial quarter and the complete 2011 of LG.

Source | Via