LG's mobile chief keeps job as firm readies LTE push

LG Electronics decided to retain the head of its mobile business in hopes that front-office stability will aid LG in its bid for a 2012 turnaround.

The South Korean electronics conglomerate shuffled some executives and promoted others in a year-end reordering of its management team, and also replaced the head of its appliance business. However, Park Jong-seok, the head of LG's mobile communications division, retained his post.

LG's handset business has reported nearly $873 million in losses the past six quarters as the company has struggled to keep up in the smartphone market. LG has been falling behind the likes of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Samsung. Nevertheless, according to a Reuters report, which cited an unnamed source familiar with the matter, LG's top management wants to keep the mobile division stable in the hope that a focus on LTE smartphones will deliver better results in 2012.

Indeed, LG scored a key win with AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T), which will launch the LTE-capable LG Nitro HD Dec. 4 for $250 with a two-year contract. The device has a dual-core 1.5 GHz processor, a 4.5-inch 720p HD screen, 8-megapixel camera and up to 20 GB of total storage. AT&T expects to cover 70 million POPs with LTE by year-end. LG's LTE-capable Revolution smartphone is also available from Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ).

LG has said it plans to raise $940 million via a rights offering in a bid to boost investment in its struggling handset unit and other core businesses. The company will also boost capital expenditure spending on smartphones next year.

For more:
- see this Reuters article
- see this Korea Herald article

Related Articles:
LG to spend more than 50% of capex on handsets next year
LG to raise $940M to shore up handset biz
LG struggles in Q3, pins hopes on LTE smartphones
Rumor Mill: LG likely to ink Android patent-licensing deal with Microsoft