LG announced its Q4 2010 and Fiscal Year 2010 earnings and the results for its handset division were discouraging. For FY 2010, LG posted an operating loss of 658 billion Korean won (US$587 million) and sales dropped 24.9% from 2009. LG missed its 2010 handset shipment goal by a margin of 23 million units, shipping a mere 116.7 million units instead of its target 140 million. This number is also down from 117.9 million units shipped in FY 2009.
Quarterly earnings show an increase from Q3 2010 to Q4 2010, but a decrease when compared to Q4 2009. In Q4 2010, LG posted a 262 billion won operating loss, down 15% from the same quarter last year. LG shipped 30.6 million handsets in Q4 2010 which is an 8% increase over Q3 2010, but a 10% decline from the same quarter in 2009. Much of this quarterly momentum in 2010 was driven by launch of the LG Optimus One.
Looking ahead, LG is optimistic that 2011 will increase its profitability in 2011. It projects that handset sales will increase 8% to 1.4 billion units. Much of its success will be based on a strong portfolio of premium smartphones and tablet devices. These high-end smartphones include the Tegra 2-powered Optimus 2X, the Optimus Black, and the LG Revolution, an LTE handset slated to land on Verizon Wireless. LG’s mobile division is also working on a tablet PC.
The full press release with the quarterly earnings for the entire company broken down by division is available on the second page.