Following several quarters of consecutive losses within its phone business, LG has announced it will no longer be releasing new smartphones every year, instead switching strategy to an “as needed” basis.

The news was revealed by the Korea Herald, who queried LG’s Vice Chairman Cho Sung-jin at CES on the expected launch date of the G7 smartphone.

“We will unveil new smartphones when it is needed. But we will not launch it just because other rivals do”, he said.

Mr Sung-jin affirms that the change in company strategy won’t terminate LG’s flagship G or V series smartphones:

“We plan to retain existing models longer by, for instance, unveiling more variant models of the G series or V series”.

Sung-jin also referenced lithium material supply as factor for slowing down new phone releases.

The company is soon to release its October – December earnings results, which market commentators forecast will likely fall short.

The majority of earnings from LG’s mobile phone unit are reportedly derived from its more affordable smartphones, than flagship models.

LG is tipped to unveil its new G7 smartphone at Mobile World Congress next month.