SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — LG Electronics Inc. says its quarterly profit rose by nearly half even as its mobile phone business sank to a loss due to lower handset sales.
The South Korean company said Wednesday that its April-June net income rose 47 percent from a year earlier to 159 billion won ($138 million).
But it reported an operating loss of 57 billion won from its mobile communications business as basic handset sales fell and smartphone marketing expenses increased.
The mobile loss comes after the division briefly enjoyed two consecutive quarters of profit. LG’s mobile division lost nearly 1 trillion won in 2010 and 2011 combined as its smartphones lost ground to the Galaxy phone and iPhone.
LG said its sales dropped 11 percent to 12.9 trillion won in the second quarter.