LG Electronics posted an 84 percent jump in quarterly earnings Monday, helped by high margins on mobile phones, brisk sales of TVs and solid results at its LCD joint venture.

The South Korean company posted a net profit of 707 billion won, or $696.5 million, in the April-June quarter, versus 385 billion won a year ago, missing a forecast for 802 billion won by 10 analysts surveyed by Reuters.

Quarterly revenue on a global basis was 12.7 trillion won, up 22 percent from last year. Operating profit on a global basis climbed to 856 billion won from 464 billion won.

But LG said it expected revenue to fall slightly in the third quarter, citing weak seasonal demand for appliances and the impact of the global economic slowdown.

Still, LG is expected to put in a strong performance for the rest of the year on the back of its resilient mobile phone division, boosted by a weaker won currency that has made its exports more competitive.

LG's 2008 net profit on a parent basis is forecast to more than double to 2.53 trillion won, according to 25 analysts polled by Reuters Estimates.

LG, which owns 38 percent of LG Display, benefited from another banner quarter at the display maker, which on June 9 posted a quarterly net profit that more than trebled from a year ago.

Shares in LG, which has a market value of about $16.35 billion, were up 5 percent in late trade after climbing as much as 6.9 percent before the announcement, outpacing the wider market's 3.7 percent gain.

LG, the world's fourth-largest mobile phone maker, after Nokia, Samsung Electronics and Motorola, and ahead of Sony Ericsson, sold a record 27.7 million phones in the second quarter, from 24.4 million in the January-March period.

Second-quarter operating profit margin in mobile phones was 14.4 percent on a global basis, versus 13.9 percent in the first quarter.

LG's results offer a strong contrast with Sony Ericsson, which last Friday posted a €2 million, or $3.2 million, quarterly operating loss, hit hard by a fall in demand for its more expensive phones, and it predicted a tough road ahead.

LG's display division, which makes plasma panels, posted a 1 percent profit margin on a global basis after suffering heavy losses for most of the past year.

Source:AFP