LG’s sales plummet but forecasts please

The world's third-largest mobile phone-maker, LG Electronics, made a second consecutive quarterly loss but impressed investors with an upbeat view on second-quarter trading.

LG, which trails Nokia and Samsung in the mobile sales market, actually increased its market share as the number of handsets its sold fell 12% to 22.6 million. Nokia last week reported a 27% fall in sales for the first quarter.

Particularly strong sales came from the Arena touch-screen phone which is seen as something of a poor man's iPhone.

LG also enjoyed a strong boost in television sales as prices continued to fall and demand for flat-screen high-definition sets continued to grow.

In the second quarter, the Korean company is also expecting strong sales growth in air-conditioning equipment.

Chief financial officer Jung Do-huyan said: "We think the second-quarter could yield better results than the first.

"Considering economic indicators, it is unlikely that the economy will recover sharply. The downturn could drag on as long as two years or as short as one year."