LG Electronics predicted sales in the second quarter had increased modestly, but warned of a double-digit drop in operating income as a weak global smartphone market weighed on its bottom-line.

In a preliminary earnings announcement, LG said it expects operating profit for the April to June period to fall 15.4 per cent year-on-year to KRW652 billion ($552 million) and consolidated revenue to rise 4.1 per cent to KRW15.6 trillion.

The vendor said the numbers are tentative, with its final results to be officially announced later this month. It did not provide figures for each division, but analysts expect an operating loss of more KRW200 billion for its troubled mobile unit, which would be the ninth consecutive quarterly loss, Yonhap News Agency reported.

Rival Samsung estimated its Q2 operating profit would be down 56 per cent year-on-year to KRW6.5 trillion and sales 4.3 per cent lower at KRW56 trillion.

Both companies have been hit by declining global smartphone demand: Strategy Analytics placed Q1 shipments at 330.4 million units globally, down 4 per cent year-on-year, but was confident the market would improve over the course of the year.