SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD. 
The world's No. 2 television maker behind Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (>> Samsung Electronics Co Ltd) said on Thursday its January-March operating profit was 505 billion won (305 million pounds), up 66 percent from the year-ago quarter and matching its earlier guidance. Revenue fell 4.5 percent to 13.4 trillion won.
The numbers suggest the South Korean firm is on a recovery path following a 35 percent profit drop in 2015. Its appliances division remained the top earner for the sixth straight quarter with a record quarterly operating profit of 408 billion won, thanks to healthy sales of premium products such as washers and refrigerators.
"LG's overall global sales and profitability are expected to improve in the second quarter, with double-digit growth in revenues and higher profitability anticipated," the company said in a statement, flagging high-end appliances, its new flagship G5 smartphone and organic light-emitting diode televisions as growth drivers for April-June.
LG's TV division profit also reported a record quarterly profit of 335 billion won, helped by weaker TV display prices and healthy sales of higher-end TV products such as ultra-high-definition sets.
The firm's mobile division recorded a 202 billion won operating loss, however, its fourth straight quarter in the red as well as its biggest since the fourth quarter of 2010. The company cited seasonally weaker sales, higher marketing costs ahead of the launch of the G5 smartphone and weaker economic conditions in some emerging markets for the loss.
LG said the launch of the G5 will help mobile revenue and earnings to improve substantially in April-June from the first quarter, adding the new flagship could surpass sales records of its predecessors.
Some analysts have said LG could post a record quarterly profit in the second quarter should the G5 be able to push the mobile business back to profit.
(Reporting by Se Young Lee; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
By Se Young Lee
