LG Electronics who is looking to expand their operations in Australia is set to benefit from a Global return to profitability.Higher television and handset sales have contributed to the US $393 million profit for the quarter. Next month both Samsung and LG are set to go head to head in Australia as both Companies battle it out with a new range of Smart TVs. LG is also expanding their smartphone and tablet offerings.
In the air conditioning and appliances markets, LG is set to take on new offerings from Japanese consumer electronics company Panasonic.
The company said the global turnaround was because of innovations in key business units.
Analysts said LG had done well to focus on high-end products: “It’s clearly benefiting from new product releases in the high-end sector with 3D sets and gaining market share from struggling Japanese rivals,” said Kim Ji-san, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities.
Despite an overall turn around the company’s display division continues to report losses.
LG owns a 38% stake in LG Display who makes displays for Apple products.
In TVs – where LG has grown market share in Australia – LG said they now have 13 percent share of the global market.
Overnight they confirmed it will launch a 55-inch flat TV OLED in May with the new TV set to go on sale in Australia in September.
Quarterly profits from the TV division nearly doubled to 217 billion won, and margins jumped to 4.1 percent.
The Economic Times said “LG expects to sell more of its premium TV models that feature 3D and Internet-enabled functions, yet its profit growth is likely to come under pressure as competition heats up in the handset market, where local rival Samsung Electronics Co is due to release a third generation of its flagship Galaxy smartphone next week.
“LG’s handset business reported a second consecutive profit, of 35 billion won, after six quarterly losses, but profitability remains near breakeven as sales of its Optimus line-up failed to win customers away from the Galaxy and Apple iPhone.”
Kim Ji-san, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities, said: “LG is clearly benefiting from new product releases in the high-end sector with 3D sets, and gaining market share from struggling Japanese rivals.”
LG and Samsung now dominate the Australian TV market at the expense of Japanese brands Sony, Panasonic Corp and Sharp who are tipped a combined $21 billion loss shortly.
“[In the past] if you wanted a top quality TV you had to buy a Sharp, Panasonic or Sony. Those days are gone,” said Steve Durose, Senior Director and Head of Asia-Pacific at FitchRatings.
The Japanese, who ruled the global TV market in the 1980s and 1990s, have been battered by their aggressive South Korean rivals, weak demand for the TVs they make and a stronger yen that erodes the value of their exports.
