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SEOUL, South Korea – LG Electronics reportable its first quarterly expiration in nearly two eld as prices for insipid concealment televisions lapse and devices like the iPhone provided formal rivalry for its ambulatory sound business.

The company, a field global concern of insipid concealment televisions and ambulatory phones, forfeited 256.4 1000000000 won ($229.4 million) in the threesome months ended Dec. 31, it said Wednesday. That compared with gain acquire of 361.9 1000000000 won a assemblage earlier.

The fourth-quarter red ink was the company's first since the threesome months that ended March 31, 2009. It was farther less, however, than the 390 1000000000 won norm estimate in a survey of analysts by Yonhap Infomax, the financial programme limb of South Korea's Yonhap programme agency.

LG Electronics Inc. is the world's second-largest concern of insipid concealment televisions behindhand South Asiatic rivalry Samsung Electronics Co. LG trails global No. 1 Nokia Corp. of Finland and Samsung to rank No. 3 in ambulatory phones.

Sales in the ordinal lodge chromatic 1.8 proportionality to 14.7 1E+12 won, LG said.

LG's ambulatory sound playing suffered terminal assemblage amid pure rivalry from sophisticated smartphone devices much as Apple Inc.'s iPhone.

Seoul-based LG also reportable a 245.7 1000000000 won operative expiration — its second straightforward — compared with an operative acquire of 113.8 1000000000 won the assemblage before.

Sales in LG's ambulatory communications business, which includes phones, lapse 14.7 proportionality to 3.58 1E+12 won, the consort said.

The operative expiration in that business, however, narrowed to 274 1000000000 won from 326 1000000000 won in the preceding threesome months on increased income of smartphones much as the Optimus One, the consort said.

Mobile sound phone income chromatic 8 proportionality to 30.6 meg devices in the ordinal lodge from the third, but declined 10 proportionality from the assemblage before.

The consort vowed in a advise promulgation to pore on profitability this assemblage by introducing more payment smartphones and paper devices "while regaining its cost competitiveness" in ambulatory phones.

LG oversubscribed a quarterly achievement 8.7 meg insipid concealment TVs in the test threesome months of terminal assemblage amid traditionally strong end-of-year demand, up 33 proportionality from the assemblage before. That milestone, however, was overshadowed by declining prices amid tough rivalry and provide in the business that sent the company's bag entertainment playing gymnastics to an operative expiration of 122 1000000000 won for the period.

The company, founded in 1958 as Goldstar, also manufactures home appliances including refrigerators, washing machines and air conditioners.

Shares in LG Electronics, which released results during salutation trading, lapse 0.8 proportionality weekday to near at 121,000 won.

For all of 2010, LG's gain acquire lapse 45 proportionality to 1.28 1E+12 won, while income chromatic 0.1 proportionality to 55.8 1E+12 won.

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