Android isn’t all about Samsung, LG shipped 13.2 million phones last quarter

LG Electronics swung to a loss in the fourth quarter, but saw signs of life flicker a little brighter in its smartphone business. The Korean conglomerate posted a loss of 64 billion Korean won, or $59.1 million, reversing a year-ago profit of 223 Korean won, or $205.8 million. LG blamed an unfavorable shift in the foreign currency exchange rate the year-over-year downturn.

There’s a popular opinion that Samsung is eating other Android phone-makers’ lunches, spurred by estimates that give it a dominant 60 percent-plus share of all Android sales. LG, however, is doing its best to show that other OEMs can thrive too. The Korean company just announced its latest financial figures (PDF), which include a record 13.2 million smartphone shipments in its most recent quarter of business. That’s an impressive 54 percent increase year-on-year, and a step up from the 12 million shipments of the previous quarter. On top of that, LG’s mobile division posted a 29 percent increase on annual revenue ($11.85 billion), with the company citing “stronger” sales of LTE smartphones. This revenue and shipments are well short of what Samsung posts, but they are a healthy improvement.