Weaker won pushes LG profit down

LG Electronics Inc, Asia's second-largest maker of mobile phones, reported its first profit drop in six quarters after the weaker won drove up the cost of foreign-currency debt and as earnings from liquid-crystal displays fell.

Third-quarter net income declined 93 percent to 24.9 billion won ($19 million), from 339.2 billion won a year earlier, Seoul- based LG said in a statement yesterday. Sales rose 21 percent to 6.89 trillion won.

Higher debt costs stemming from the decline in the South Korean won, Asia's worst-performing major currency this year so far, overshadowed higher sales of mobile phones and television units.