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Mobile Miscellany: week of April 22nd, 2013

Zachary Lutz — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 21:45:00 -0400

If you didn't get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This week, a familiar smartphone leaked that's said to join the prepaid ranks at Verizon Wireless, AT&T swung back against the DOJ, and Rogers issued its quarterly earnings. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore all that's happening in the mobile world for this week of April 22nd, 2013.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

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LG Q1 earnings come in lower than last year, but phone sales are up

Richard Lawler — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 01:26:00 -0400

LG has released its earnings report for the first quarter of 2013, and while they were down overall from last year, there is good news to report for its phones. A net profit of $20.3 million is lower than Q1 2012's $214 million -- but better than Q4's lawsuit-related $428 million loss -- blamed on weaker earnings in its home theater business. The good news is reserved for phones, where sales were up 30 percent from last year thanks to devices like the Optimus G (original, Pro and Nexus 4) and L series. Home Entertainment sales dropped to their lowest level in the past year, blamed mostly on a decline in plasmas and professional displays. Q2 is expected to be another good one as the Optimus L Series II, 5.5-inch Optimus G Pro and Optimus F ship worldwide. According to LG its LCD sales were actually up thanks to growing demand in Europe and China, but profits took a hit because of increased competition. While it doesn't expect the overall market to change, it is looking for better results in Q2 as its new Smart and 3D TVs hit shelves along with upcoming 4K and OLED sets. We'll keep digging through the numbers for more details, check the source link below to take a look for yourself.

Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, HD, Mobile, LG

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Source: LG Korea, LG Q1 2013 earnings (PDF)

LG's Q4 earnings show a narrow yearly net profit of $80.75 million, improved income for all divisions

Richard Lawler — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 00:01:00 -0500

The latest company to release its quarterly and year-end earnings report is LG, and the good news is that unlike last year's losses, it has managed to eke out a net profit of $80.75 million. Revenues overall were down six percent from last year, but its operating profit moved way up to $1.01 billion from $342.06 million for 2011. Its TV division also reported record sales and a full year profit of over $480 million, while the cellphone division's revenue for Q4 was the highest of the year as it shipped 8.6 million smartphones. So what's on deck for 2013? As you may have heard, Ultra HD and OLED to push the extreme high end of HDTVs along with ever more 3D and connected models for the mass market. For phones, we can expect successors to the Optimus G (more than the Optimus G Pro?) and L-Series, plus LTE phones for the masses in the F-Series as high speed data continues to spread throughout Europe and emerging markets. There's a few more numbers in the press release after the break if you're interested, hit the source link to check out the presentation slides.

Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, HD, Mobile, LG

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Source: LG, LG Q4 2012 Earnings

LG records a 'solid' $138.57 million net profit for Q3, keeps the positive trend going

Richard Lawler — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 00:32:00 -0400

LG Electronics has reported its earnings for Q3 2012, notching its third straight quarter of positive income with a net profit of 157 billion won ($138.57 million) and "solid" performances from its home theater and mobile businesses. Revenue is down from the same period last year, but seeing as it's actually making money this time around it's probably still reason to celebrate. On the mobile side of the aisle it reports an operating profit of $19.42 million with slightly higher sales than Q2, mostly thanks to those LTE smartphones it's been rolling out. Its home entertainment biz noted a rise in LCD sales, with 3D TVs and LED-lit models growing from last quarter in most markets. Looking towards the future it's obviously going all-in on the Optimus G (although our interests run towards the Nexus G that should debut next week), and also looks for its Ultra HD television to raise its standing as a premium brand. Check the press release after the break and PDF linked below for more numbers if that's your thing.

Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, HD, Mobile, LG

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Source: LG, Q3 2012 Results (PDF)

LG Q2 2012 earnings show a loss on cellphones, but higher profits overall thanks to home theater

Richard Lawler — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 00:36:00 -0400

LG has released its earnings statement for the Q2 2012 period, the claim of "turning a corner" in Q1 has just managed to hold up as it registered net profits of $138 million, up 46 percent from the same period last year. Revenues, while higher than Q1, were actually down from last year and blamed on declines in featurephone sales and slow sales of IT products. The mobile division also struggled after a strong Q1 and took an operating loss, however the positive takeaways are a rising percentage of smartphone shipments and plans to launch new LTE-connected models in North America (we've spotted the likely Spectrum 2 for Verizon already), Europe and Asia later this year. The good news for the home theater segment continued however, with an operating profit of more than double last year at $187.5 million despite slightly lower sales due to an increase in sales of premium products like its Cinema 3D HDTVs, which it expects to become the "top global seller" in the 3D segment. There's more details in the press release after the break or PDF linked below if you need more numbers.

Filed under: HD, Mobile

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Visualized: Apple and Samsung occupy the 99 percent... of phone profits

Daniel Cooper — Fri, 04 May 2012 12:17:00 -0400

Financial maven and maker of beautiful graphs Horace Dediu has found that between the top eight mobile phone vendors, Apple and Samsung share 99 percent of the total spoils. Of RIM, LG, Sony (Ericsson), Motorola, Nokia and HTC, only the latter made a profit -- claiming that left over one percent. The remaining six all recorded losses for the quarter, Mr. Deidu adding that several of those companies are carrying feature phone businesses that they should shed before they become an albatross around their neck.

Filed under: Mobile

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LG's Q1 2012 earnings show greater profits on strong TV, phone sales

Richard Lawler — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 01:11:00 -0400

LG has released its Q1 2012 numbers, and there's plenty of good news to go around, with TV profits that nearly doubled and profit from cellphones for the second quarter in a row following six straight quarters of losses. Despite slightly lower sales, more of the units that did sell had higher prices and made more profit. In its press release, the company claimed to have "turned the corner" with a net profit of $215 million, blaming the slower sales of TVs on the European economy and cellphones on declining featurephone sales. We don't have specific numbers, but it called out the popularity of the Optimus LTE and Optimus Vu as part of the reason for increased revenues. Of course, the year is only just getting under way, and the company is expected to introduce its first 55-inch OLED HDTV soon, as well as quad-core smartphones and a new L-style series of phones. Before that however, it will have to deal with the competition from fellow Korean giant Samsung which will report its earnings later this week and has a few high profile releases up its sleeves as well. There's more details in the press release after the break, and PDF linked below.

Filed under: HD, Mobile

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LG finally shows a profit from cellphones, record high flat-panel shipments in Q4 earnings

Richard Lawler — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:53:00 -0500

LG has revealed its earnings statements for the fourth quarter of 2011 and the full year, and it managed to notch an operating profit of 23 billion won ($20.5 million), boosted by a 10 billion won operating profit in its handset division. That was despite lower sales compared to the previous quarter (17.7 million compared to 21.1 million), with higher sales of its new Optimus LTE and lower sales of less profitable dumbphones. It also had solid results in TVs with an operating profit of 150 billion won and record shipments of 8.8 million units, thanks to demand for its higher end models over the holidays. Check out the slides in the PDF linked below for notes on how LG plans to dominate 2012 with more LTE, 3D and air conditioners, although we'd just recommend moving to Level 5 of the Kobe System.

Filed under: HD, Mobile

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LG posts a net loss for Q3, loses ground in mobile sales

Richard Lawler — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 02:48:00 -0400

The Q3 numbers for LG are in, showing its cellphone unit lost money for the sixth straight quarter, with profits coming from the home appliance and air conditioning units. On the home entertainment side, it shipped more flat panel TVs than ever before (6.8 million) and despite lower revenues managed to improve operating profit by selling more of its high end Cinema 3D and LED-lit HDTVs. Unfortunately for the mobile division, sales were down 8.5 percent from last year and the company recorded a $128.47 million operating loss. Making things worse, Reuters reports its rival Samsung is expected to report strong profit in mobiles on Friday, and pass Apple as the world's biggest smartphone seller on the back of its Galaxy S line. We don't know if LG will be able to turn things around anytime soon, but giving the Optimus LTE an Ice Cream Sandwich finish and shipping it sooner rather than later couldn't hurt.

Filed under: HD, Mobile

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LG turns it around, reports profits back in the green

Sharif Sakr — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 04:50:00 -0400

After six months of knuckle-crunching losses, LG can finally wind the window down and turn the radio on to Seoul FM. The electronics giant just reported a net profit of ₩108 billion ($100 million) in the last quarter, primarily thanks to sales of LED and Cinema 3D TVs. Its handset subsidiary, which has been pushing into the Android high end with devices like the Optimus 2X, is still bleeding cash -- but losses were halved compared to last quarter, so perhaps the wound is finally scabbing over. Meanwhile, the LG Home Appliance Company posted "record-high" sales, but it'll have to Thinq even harder in future because profits were held back by higher material costs, currency fluctuations and greater competition. Definitely too soon for cruise control.

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LG posts Q4 results, 2010 profit down 93 percent, cellphone sales down 15 percent

Tim Stevens — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 09:43:00 -0500

Nokia isn't the only one with bad news today. LG has posted its Q4 results and is taking this time to look back on what can only be described as a dismal 2010 overall. Fourth-quarter revenues were up 9.4 percent over the third quarter, but still resulted in a 246.4 billion won loss -- that's about $226.3 million. LG Home Entertainment sales were actually up almost 16 percent but still posted a loss thanks to cut prices and stiff competition. LG Mobile, meanwhile, saw an eight percent increase in sales over previous quarter, thanks to "strong" performance of phones like the Optimus One, but compared to 2009 sales are down 14.7 percent, a 15.2 percent drop for handsets alone. Looking for some cooler news? Air conditioning sales are up 50 percent!

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LG, Samsung report earnings, phone businesses not in perfect health

Chris Ziegler — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:27:00 -0400

South Korean archrivals Samsung and LG have both come clean with their second-quarter earnings this week. While there's still black ink across the board, LG suffered a 33 percent decline in net profit year-over-year, undoubtedly due in large part to a little bit of bleeding going on in the giant mobile division where they've posted a year-over-year loss "due to investment in R&D and expansion of channels in emerging markets for future development." Samsung, meanwhile, saw a 7.2 percent profit margin in its mobile business and a respectable 22 percent year-over-year improvement in shipments, but it came at the cost of higher price pressures -- margins are razor-thin for these guys, and they seem to be getting even smaller. The company ends on a positive note by saying that the Galaxy S series and the Wave should help push it through the third quarter, but considering how these guys flood the low end (read: the part of the market where it's especially difficult to make a buck) with dozens of devices every year, it seems like it's going to take superhuman efficiency to keep shareholders smiling.

Filed under: Mobile

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LG phone revenue up, but profit down

Chris Ziegler — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 07:49:00 -0400

It's a tough operating environment for even the healthiest manufacturers right now, and LG's no more immune than anyone else -- or is it? Despite a dismal global economy, the Korean electronics giant and world's number three phone maker reported that it actually took in some 23 percent more revenue on phone sales over the same quarter last year -- a total of 3.92 trillion won (about $2.9 billion) -- though profit fell some 41 percent. Overall, phone shipments declined 7 percent to 22.6 million in the quarter, blamed in part on the perennial post-holiday decline, but saw strength through its midrange with models like the Cookie and KS360 (we're not sold on lumping those two in the same market segment, but whatevs). Perhaps the best news to come out of the quarterly report is that it expects 10 percent growth going into the current quarter thanks to a new concentration on upper-tier devices like the Arena, Viewty Smart, and GD900 along with message-centric phones like the Neon and Xenon. You know what'd really spur sales for ya, LG? A US release of the Viewty Smart... yeah, that's it.

[Via mocoNews]

Filed under: LG, Mobile

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LG follows Nokia's earnings success

Chris Ziegler — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 14:33:00 -0500

Nokia isn't the only manufacturer going the opposite direction of Motorola at the moment. LG managed to ship 23.7 million phones in the fourth quarter of 2007, a 40 percent improvement over the same period in 2006; following a trends across the industry, though, its revenue was up considerably less -- a mere 12 percent -- thanks to freefalling handset prices worldwide. The company says that a healthy portion of its success can be attributed to the good fortunes it has seen with Verizon's Venus and Voyager and with the Viewty throughout Europe. Things are looking good for 2008, too -- LG predicts that it'll ship a whopping 100 million handsets throughout the year, which if true would represent a 25 percent increase over 2007's numbers. As it stands, LG slides in with 7.1 percent of the global phone market share, slotting it fifth among the top five manufacturers (nothing new there) and about 2 percent behind number four, Sony Ericsson. Best of luck in the new year, dudes.

Filed under: LG, Mobile

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