Strong growth in LG Electronics’ mobile communications unit helped the company more than double its net profit last year and increase revenue four per cent to KRW59.04 trillion ($55.9 billion).

The South Korean electronics giant reported a 125 per cent jump in its 2014 net profit to KRW501 billion.

The mobile communications unit posted the strongest growth among the company’s four major divisions, with revenue expanding 16 per cent to KRW15.06 trillion. Its home entertainment group grew just 1 per cent, while both the home appliance and aircon/energy units saw revenue decline 2 per cent.

Smartphone shipments increased 24 per cent to 59.1 million for the full year. Smartphones accounted for three-quarter of its handset shipments.

Q4 smartphone shipments were up 18 per cent to 15.6 million units. Total shipments in North America in the quarter were 5.7 million, a 78 per cent increase on the year-ago quarter.

Fourth-quarter mobile revenue of KRW3.78 trillion was 5 percent higher than the same period in 2013.

Domestic sales were down quarter-on-quarter in Q4 due to the impact of the new regulation limiting handset subsidies to KRW350,000.

Operating profit margins on handsets fell quarter-on-quarter as the average selling price continued to slide. Unfavourable currency fluctuations also contributed to the decline.

The company said it expects more intense competition in 2015 and will “concentrate on improving its brand power, operating more efficiently and focusing on selective key markets”.