LGE expects 20% growth in handset shipments in 2010, says executive

LG Electronics (LGE) expects its handset shipments to increase 20% in 2010, a growth as strong as that in 2009, according to Skott Ahn, president and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications.

The vendor's handset shipments are projected to grow 20% in 2009 to 120 million units, Ahn said as the company launched its new-generation Chocolate handset, the BL40, in the Hong Kong market on November 4.

Of the projected handset shipments for 2009, 75 million units will be GSM handsets and the remaining 45 million units will be CDMA models, the company noted.

The company expects its handset shipments in the Taiwan market to also grow 20% in 2010 with handset revenues reaching US$100 million, said Myong Won Baek, chairman of LGE Taiwan, who also noted that total revenues generated by LGE Taiwan are expected to top US$300 million next year.

LGE plans to introduce its new Windows Mobile-based smartphones into the Taiwan market in the first quarter of 2010 and its first Android-powered models in the second quarter, Baek revealed.