SEOUL, July 26 (Xinhua) -- South Korean tech giant LG Electronics posted a record-high profit in the first half of this year as brisk sales of TVs and home appliances offset deficit in smartphone business, the company said Thursday.
Operating profit advanced 16.1 percent over the year to 771 billion won (689 million U.S. dollars) in the April-June quarter. Revenue gained 3.2 percent to 15.02 trillion won (13.4 billion U.S. dollars) in the quarter.
Helped by the brisk second-quarter earnings, LG's first-half operating profit hit a new high of 1.88 trillion won (1.68 billion U.S. dollars). Revenue also topped 30 trillion won (26.8 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half for the first time.
However, net income tumbled 36.6 percent over the year to 326.5 billion won (291.6 million U.S. dollars).
The H&A division, which is responsible for home appliances, posted the record-high revenue in the April-June quarter and also in the January-June period.
The HE unit, which produces TV, also recorded a brisk profit, but the smartphone business posted a deficit of 185.4 billion won (165.6 million U.S. dollars) in the second quarter.
The deficit was attributed to increased marketing costs for new flagship smartphones and the falling sales of low-priced smartphones in the Latin American countries.
