SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — LG Electronics stayed in the red for a second straight quarter, knocked by foreign exchange losses and a poor result from its flat panel affiliate LG Display.
The net loss for the first three months of 2009 was 198 billion South Korean won ($146.7 million), the South Korean company said Tuesday. LG Electronics reported a loss of 671.3 billion won in the previous quarter when LG Display, the world's second-largest manufacturer of liquid crystal displays, was slapped with a $400 million price-fixing fine in the United States.
Foreign exchange losses in the first quarter totaled 316 billion won while LG Display, which is 37.9 percent owned by LG Electronics, racked up 90 billion won of equity-accounted losses as competition in the global flat panel market dragged down prices.
Total equity-accounted losses from all affiliate companies were 211 billion won.
LG Electronics said the high season for air conditioners will boost sales in the second quarter but its key mobile handset division will continue to grapple with a shrinking world market.
First-quarter shipments of handsets declined 12 percent from the previous quarter to 22.6 million units and the global handset market is likely to shrink 10 percent year-on-year in the second quarter to about 260 million units, LG Electronics said.
Quarterly sales excluding overseas subsidiaries rose to 7.07 trillion won from 6.59 trillion won, helped by continued high volume sales of flat panels. The company expects sales in the second quarter to grow 10 percent from the first quarter.