LG Electronics seemed to be headed toward a solid recovery, with second quarter sales brightening significantly on the back of strong performances in air conditioners and mobile handsets.

Sales for the company based on consolidated statements rose 10 percent from last year and 8 percent from the previous quarter, while operating profit surged 37 percent compared to the first quarter, the electronics heavyweight said in a regulatory filing.

“It was a difficult year, with the business environment far from being friendly, but we registered improved sales cross-board, especially in the Air Conditioning and Energy Solution department,” said Clare Jang, a spokeswoman for LG Electronics.

The air conditioning unit’s sales reached 1.73 trillion won to rise more than 40 percent both on-quarter and on-year to record the largest increase since it was first launched in 2009.

New products, including the “LG Whisen Special G” advertised with Son Yon-jae, a popular Olympic gymnast, helped bolster the company’s quarterly earnings, LG officials said.

The operating profit margin reached 9.9 percent, with the profit figure at 171 billion won to grow by 42 percent from the first quarter.

“The AE unit showed excellent performance,” said Park Won-jae, an analyst at KDB Daewoo Securities, referring to the high profit margin. “An early start of hot and humid weather also seems to have boosted the sales of air conditioners to beyond what was initially anticipated.”

He expected the forecasts of a longer summer to fuel the expectations for continued improved performances in the third quarter of the year.

Mobile Communications also put up a good fight, with sales soaring 35 percent compared to the first quarter of last year. On-quarter, it narrowed by 3 percent, but the 3.12 trillion won was still significantly better than all of last year when the unit stayed in the 2 trillion won range, experts said.

Handset sales were driven by LG’s promotion of top-of-the-line smartphones including the latest G2, which will be globally released on Aug. 7 in New York City, and the G Pro and the L and F series.

Mobile Communications showed the best sales performance in terms of year-on-year growth, followed by air conditioning and energy, home appliances and home entertainment.

In quarterly growth, air conditioning topped the list, followed by home appliances, home entertainment and mobile communications.

By Kim Ji-hyun and Kim Young-won
(jemmie@heraldcorp.com) (w0102@heraldcorp.com)