LG Electronics Inc <066570.KS> on Wednesday reported a surge in second-quarter operating profit as the strength of its mobile phone and TV businesses helped the company recover from the downturn faster than its peers.

LG, the world's No. 3 mobile phone maker, posted a global-basis operating profit of 1.13 trillion won ($903 million) for April-June, soundly beating a 988 billion won average profit forecast from nine analysts polled by Reuters.

That was up 32 percent from an 856 billion won profit a year earlier and compares with a 456 billion won profit in the first quarter.

LG's second-quarter net profit of 1.15 trillion won was much bigger than a 707 billion won profit in the year-ago period and marked a turnaround from a 198 billion net loss in the previous quarter.

New premium products such as the multimedia touch screen phone ARENA, steady sales of mid-range phones and price competitiveness from a weaker won are helping LG expand market share in mobile phones despite the current downturn.

The outlook is also bright due to strong sales of flat-screen TVs and improving earnings at liquid crystal display (LCD) affiliate LG Display Co Ltd <034220.KS>, analysts said.

(Reporting by Marie-France Han and Rhee So-eui; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)

Electronics LG electronics LG TV