LG Electronics Q4 net loss widens

By Kim Seung-yeon

SEOUL, Jan. 29 (Yonhap) -- LG Electronics Inc., South Korea's leading home appliance and smartphone maker, said Thursday its net loss widened by more than threefold in the fourth quarter of 2014 from a year earlier as it suspended production of plasma display panel (PDP) TVs due to lack of demand.

Net loss came to 205.7 billion won (US$189.9 million) in the October-December period, compared with a loss of 63.5 billion won the previous year, the company said in a regulatory filing.

The figure was in line with the market consensus polled by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency.

Operating profit, however, rose 28.4 percent on-year to 275.1 billion won, with sales gaining 4.9 percent to 15.3 trillion won in the cited period.

The fourth-quarter earnings came a day after LG Electronics released its annual earnings in compliance with a local rule that requires a large firm to disclose results if there's a change in profit or revenue by 15 percent or more.

On an annual basis, its net profit more than doubled in 2014 to 501.3 billion won, compared with 222.7 billion won a year ago.

The company cited upbeat sales of its TV sets and flagship G smartphone series as a key reason for the strong bottom line

It marked a significant turnaround for the tech firm, which logged 432.8 billion won in net loss for 2011 before swinging to a net gain the following year. It has seen its net profit rise by more than twofold in 2013 and last year.

The company also announced Wednesday it will pay a dividend of 400 won per share for 2014, increasing it from a payout of 200 won per share in the previous year.

elly@yna.co.kr
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