LG Electronics, the world's third- largest handset maker, saw its operating profit surge in the first quarter on the back of brisk sales of its flagship smartphones, including Optimus G and Topimus G Pro, the company said Wednesday.

Operating profit was 349.5 billion won (312 million U.S. dollars) in the three months ending March 31, almost tripling from a 116.9 billion profit in the prior quarter, according to an e- mailed statement.

Sales fell 4.7 percent from three months earlier to 14.1 trillion won in the first quarter, while net income was 22.1 billion won, turning from a net loss of 471.9 billion won in the previous quarter.

"LG's smartphone shipments should increase more than we previously estimated due to the delay of the Apple iPhone 5S from the second quarter to the third quarter. The turnaround of HTC and Nokia should b weaker than expected," Cho Jinho, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities in Seoul, said in a report right before the release.

Cho noted that the company's mobile-phone division should saw its gross margin improved in the first quarter due to rising portion of the high-end Optimus G and Optimus G Pro smartphones. Endi

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