LG posts profit on smartphone sales

South Korean consumer electronics maker LG Electronics reported a third straight quarterly profit today as it sold more smartphones that run on a faster wireless network.

LG said its net profit totalled 157bon won (€109m) for the three months ending September 30, compared with a 414bn (€288m) won loss a year earlier.

The result was better than expected and sent its shares up 2% in Seoul.

The company lost money in the last two quarters of 2011 before returning to profit in the first quarter of this year when the mobile communications division made a small profit.

The company, which competes with Samsung and Sony in the TV business, has been struggling due to its slow response to the fast growth of the smartphone market. In 2011, LG's mobile communications division posted a 281bn won (€195m) operating loss.

LG said its mobile phone business was profitable in the latest quarter after the red ink in the previous quarter.

The company credited demand for smartphones that run on faster "LTE" networks, which are taking off in South Korea, Japan and the United States. It sold 14.4 million mobile phones during the three months, with smartphone sales accounting for half of the volume.

LG reported a quarterly operating profit of 221bn won (€154m) compared with a 32bn won (€22bn) operating loss a year earlier.

Sales fell 4% to 12.4 trillion won (€8.6bn) as LG sold fewer low-end mobile phones and the weak economy pressured demand for TVs.