LG’s mobile business reports bigger loss

SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of – LG Electronics Inc. says its mobile business lost money for a second straight quarter as component prices rose.

The South Korean electronics company said Thursday that its mobile business lost 375 billion won ($334 million) during the July-September quarter. The operating loss has nearly tripled from the previous quarter because prices of memory chips and other components for smartphones jumped.

The company’s overall business stayed in the black for a third quarter thanks to its high-end OLED TVs that saw higher sales and improved profitability.

Overall, LG reported 318 billion won ($283 million) in net income for the July-September quarter, slightly better than expected.

Sales rose 15 per cent over a year earlier to 15.2 trillion won ($14 billion) while operating income jumped 82 per cent to 516 billion won ($459 million).