LG Electronics (SEO: 066570) posted a 671.3 billion won ($489.7 million) net loss in the fourth quarter — its first loss in seven quarters — and much worse than the 172.3 billion won ($125 million) loss a Reuters analyst poll had forecast. The South Korean consumer electronics giant was hit especially hard by losses in its flat-screen TV unit.
There was both good and bad news in its mobile communications unit. Handset sales rose to 4.09 trillion won ($3.0 billion), up 40.4 percent year on year and 16.5 percent sequentially. Despite the recession, handset shipments were up 8 percent year on year to 25.7 million, which means LG shipped a total of 100.7 million units in 2008, making it the number-three handset maker for the year. The bad news is that the cellphone unit
{"source":"https:\/\/gigaom.com\/2009\/01\/22\/419-lg-electronics-swings-to-loss-profit-margin-crumbles-at-mobile-unit\/wijax\/49e8740702c6da9341d50357217fb629","varname":"wijax_cacd1d133ae3dfbe904ea53e0ae1c992","title_element":"header","title_class":"widget-title","title_before":"%3Cheader%20class%3D%22widget-title%22%3E","title_after":"%3C%2Fheader%3E"}