LG Electronics to exit from loss-making smartphone business

The new dual-screen smartphone from LG Electronics is on sale in South Korea on October 6, 2020. /VCG

South Korea's LG Electronics said in regulatory filing on Monday that it will end its loss-making smartphone business amid intensifying competition in the industry, with focus expected to shift to the more profitable home appliance and TV divisions.

The tech powerhouse, once the world's third-largest handset maker, will no longer produce and sell handsets after July 31.

The company's mobile business has been in the red for 23 consecutive quarters since the second quarter of 2015, with accumulated operating losses standing at 5 trillion won ($4.4 billion) last year.