LG Electronics' profit soars in Q1

South Korea's No. 2 tech giant LG Electronics said Thursday its first-quarter net profit jumped nearly five-fold from a year earlier, apparently helped by improved sales of premium electronics.

Net profit came to 198.1 billion won ($174 million) in the first quarter, compared to the 38.4 billion won posted a year earlier, the company said in its regulatory filing.

Operating profit came to 505 billion won in the January-March period, up 65.5 percent from last year. Sales moved down 4.5 percent over the cited period to 13.3 trillion won.

The result came in line with the earnings guidance released earlier this month.

Shares of LG Electronics closed unchanged from the previous session at 58,200 won on Thursday, when the benchmark KOSPI lost 0.72 percent. The first-quarter result was released after the trading session. (Yonhap)