LG Electronics said Thursday its net loss widened by more than threefold in the fourth quarter of 2014 from a year earlier as it suspended production of plasma display panel TVs. The company's net loss came to 205.7 billion won (US$189.9 million) in the October-December period, compared with a loss of 63.5 billion won the previous year. Operating profit, however, rose 28.4 percent on-year to 275.1 billion won, with sales gaining 4.9 percent to 15.3 trillion won in the cited period.

On an annual basis, the company's net profit more than doubled in 2014 to 501.3 billion won, compared with 222.7 billion won a year ago.

The company cited upbeat sales of its flagship G smartphone series as a key reason for the strong bottom line.

Its mobile business made a significant turnaround in the fourth quarter by logging 67.4 billion won in operating profit, a shift from an operating loss of 43.4 billion won a year ago.

LG said it sold 15.6 million units of smartphones in 2014, up 18 percent from a year earlier. Shipments to North America spiked 78 percent to 5.7 million units last year.

Its home entertainment business also reported full-year operating profit of KRW 509 billion (USD 482.01 million), an increase of 31 percent year-on-year while full-year revenue increased slightly to 19.38 trillion (USD 18.35 billion).