The hits keep coming for LG, as the company posted a loss of some $224 million in the fourth quarter on declining mobile sales.
Revenue in the mobile division declined 25% between Q4 2015 and the same period last year, with LG calling the situation "challenging." The G5 was mainly to blame, though there was some slowdown in the entire category for the Korean giant, which couldn't manage a huge hit despite commendable performance in the mid-range market, along with "strong" sales of the V20 later in the year.
LG says that "weak sales" of the G5 suppressed the company's overall outlook, and looks forward to "recover[ing a] premium position in 2017 by launching successful flagship model," referring to the G6 that launches at Mobile World Congress next month. The company sold 14.1 million devices in the quarter, down 8% year-over-year.
The story has been similar for LG over the past few months, with the modular G5 proving to be one of the worst decisions the company has made in a long time. With the G6 on the horizon, though, with a more streamlined metal-and-glass design, it is better primed to take on the Galaxy S8 — even if it won't have the latest Snapdragon processor inside.
