'Weaker than expected' LG G6 had a 'challenging' quarter, but the company still made a little money
by Adrian DiaconescuJuly 27, 2017 7:01 am
Despite being arguably one of the most beautiful, versatile and powerful smartphones in the world right now, with a 9 out of 10 rating in our rigorous review and second-place finish in the top 5 race of 2017 so far, the LG G6 is by all accounts a sales flop.
You may have ignored the early signs pointing in the same disappointing direction, like way too frequent and attractive deals and promos, and you probably refused to believe that depressing third-party US shipment report for the month of June only.
But the "FullVision" handheld's manufacturers themselves warned of another frustrating financial statement incoming, and indeed, without naming names, LG just blamed "weaker than expected premium" smartphone demand for a Q2 2017 mobile division loss.
The truly disheartening part is the chaebol's previous quarterly numbers included a tiny $176,000 deficit in the Mobile Communications segment, down from a whopping $224 million during Q4 2016, but back up to around $117 million now.
That's slightly less than what LG lost mainly on the G5 between April and June 2016, but overall mobile revenues have also decreased year-on-year, to a more than modest KRW 2.7 trillion, or $2.39 billion, signaling shrinking smartphone unit shipments. Bottom line, both profits and volumes are down, though LG remains hopeful the mid-range Q6 family and the "rollout of a new high-end device in the weeks ahead" will turn things around "in the second half of 2017."
If not, the home appliance and home entertainment "companies" can always be counted on for balancing the books. Once again, both divisions have reported decent revenue, operating income and overall growth scores, contributing decisively to a total of $12.89 billion earnings and $588 million surplus.
LG Newsroom
Android, earnings, Financial, financial losses, financial reports, financial results, G5, G6, LG, News, profits, revenue, sales, sales numbers, sales report, smartphone sales