LG Electronics posts more than $229M quarterly loss

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — LG Electronics reported its first quarterly loss in nearly two years as prices for flat-screen televisions fell and devices like the iPhone provided stiff competition for its mobile phone business.

The company, a major global manufacturer of flat screen televisions and mobile phones, lost 256.4 billion won ($229.4 million) in the three months ended Dec. 31, it said today. That compared with net profit of 361.9 billion won a year earlier.

The fourth-quarter red ink, however, came in far less than the 390 billion won median estimate in a survey of analysts by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of South Korea's Yonhap news agency.

LG Electronics Inc. is the world's second-largest manufacturer of flat-screen televisions behind South Korean rival Samsung Electronics Co. LG trails global No. 1 Nokia Corp. of Finland and Samsung to rank No. 3 in mobile phones.