LG Electronics, manufacturer of flat panel televisions and mobile phones, today reported losses of $14.6 million in the first quarter. That’s compared to a $624.6 million net profit in the same quarter last year.

The company’s reported loss narrowed from the previous quarter. LG Electronics posted $237.4 million in losses in the fourth quarter of 2010.

The company attributed at least $58 million of its net loss to investments in affiliates, including flat panel maker LG Display and LG Innotek, which manufactures electronic components.

Mobile phone shipments declined 10 percent to 24.5 million units compared to the same quarter a year ago.  The company reported strong sales of smartphones such as the LG Optimus One and Optimus 2X in North America. Profitability improved due to an increased portion of total mobile device sales being smartphones and efforts to cut overhead costs.

LG Electronics projects competition to continue to intensify into the next quarter. The company plans to meet that competition by diversifying its smartphone offerings. In the pipeline for the second quarter are the Optimus Black, Optimus Big, Optimus 3D and the LTE Revolution.

LG Electronics is the third largest producer of mobile phones globally, coming in behind Nokia and Samsung in the No. 1 and 2 spots, respectively.