LG Electronics logs record-high revenue in Q3

SEOUL, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- LG Electronics, South Korea's No. 2 tech giant, logged a record-high revenue in the third quarter thanks to the strong sale of home appliances and TVs, the company said Thursday.

Revenue reached a fresh quarterly high of 18.79 trillion won (16 billion U.S. dollars) in the July-September quarter, up 22 percent from a year earlier.

Operating profit tumbled 49.6 percent to 540.7 billion won (462.6 million U.S. dollars) in the third quarter due to a one-time charge of 480 billion won (410.7 million U.S. dollars), the company said.

Net income declined 20.4 percent to 516.5 billion won (441.9 million U.S. dollars) in the cited quarter.

The home appliance and air solution unit, which makes home appliances and air conditioners, posted an operating profit of 505.4 billion won (432.4 million U.S. dollars) on revenue of 7.06 trillion won (6 billion U.S. dollars).

The revenue topped 7 trillion won for the first time in the company's history owing to strong sales growth in Europe and the Americas.

The home entertainment division, which produces TVs, logged an operating profit of 208.3 billion won (178.2 million U.S. dollars) on revenue of 4.18 trillion won (3.6 billion U.S. dollars).

The revenue surpassed 4 trillion won for the fourth consecutive quarter, driven by the steady growth in demand for premium products such as OLED and large-screen TVs in the key markets of North America and Europe.

The vehicle component division recorded an operating loss of 537.6 billion won (460 million U.S. dollars) on revenue of 1.74 trillion won (1.5 billion U.S. dollars) in the third quarter.

The operating loss included the one-time charge related to General Motors' recall of the Chevy Bolt EV.

The business solutions division logged an operating loss of 12.3 billion won (10.5 million U.S. dollars) on revenue of 1.69 trillion won (1.5 billion U.S. dollars) in the September quarter.

The revenue was up 13.9 percent from a year ago thanks to the continued demand for information display products, PCs and monitors as well as the gradual recovery of the B2B segment.

The operating loss was caused by the higher prices of key components, including LCD panels, semiconductors and solar wafers, as well as an increase in global logistics costs.