[THE INVESTOR] LG Electronics said on April 6 its first-quarter operating profit is estimated to have increased 20.2 percent from a year earlier, apparently on strong performances of home appliances and TVs.

The operating profit came to 1.1 trillion won (US$1.02 billion) in the January-March period, compared with 921 billion won posted a year earlier, the Korean tech giant said in a regulatory filing.

Sales moved up 3.2 percent to 15.1 trillion won, compared with 14.6 trillion won posted for the same three-month period in 2017.

The operating profit came in above the market estimates of 885.7 billion.

LG did not give the individual performances and net profit estimates for each business division. The company will deliver its finalized earnings report later this month.

Although the figure is slightly below LG’s record earnings of 1.2 trillion won posted in the second quarter of 2009, it still marks the first time that the company posted earnings exceeding 1 trillion won since then.

Shares of LG Electronics closed 5.71 percent higher at 111,000 won. The first-quarter guidance was released during the session.

By Song Seung-hyun and newswires (ssh@heraldcorp.com)