South Korean consumer electronics behemoth LG Electronics Inc. saw an 84% rise in profit in its second quarter ended June 30. The electronics company reported a $694.8 million profit on strong sales of flat-panel televisions and wireless handsets. That figure was an 84% increase over the year-ago quarter.

In what seems like a copycat model of larger rival Samsung Electronics' success, LG is now making more and more flat-panel television sets for off-brand and private-label customers as well as selling some very svelte and design-focused 3G handsets used by wireless carriers worldwide.

The electronics company warned, however, about its third quarter results, downplaying it as attributable to a global economic downturn. According to reports, analysts speculated that the company's results have peaked this year as its business momentum would weaken in future quarters.

LG continued to make huge strides in the global wireless handset market, overtaking rival Sony Ericsson as the world's fourth-largest in the second quarter. Sony Ericsson, which had a disappointing quarter, is finding it harder to sell its mid- to high-end handsets, as sales of entry-level handsets continue to be the market for sell-in. Sony Ericsson's entry-level product portfolio is extremely weak. On the flip side, LG said that it plans to sell 100 million handsets this year alone, compared with just over 80 million in 2007.