Shares in handset and appliance maker LG Electronics surged as much as 7.6 percent on Friday, after the South Korean firm reported strong profits while bigger rival Motorola posted another quarterly loss.

Shares of LG rose 6.4 percent to 78,500 won at 0459 GMT, outpacing the broader market's 1.56 percent gain, after posting its highest quarterly net profit in three years during late market trading hours on Thursday.

News of Motorola's loss certainly helped LG shares as it highlights its handset margin, which came in higher than competitors, said Kevin Lee, an analyst at Woori Investment and Securities.

The world's fifth-biggest mobile phone maker on Thursday posted a second-quarter net profit of 385 billion won ($420 million), well above analysts' forecasts. LG had posted a loss of 9.7 billion won a year earlier and a 122.6-billion-won shortfall in the previous quarter.

It was the highest quarterly profit since posting a 493 billion won profit in the second quarter of 2004.

LG got a boost after Motorola posted its second consecutive quarterly loss on Thursday and said a lack of advanced handsets cost the U.S. company market share, dropping it into third place in the industry behind Nokia and Samsung Electronics.

Motorola also did not give a third-quarter revenue forecast.

Other South Korean technology companies such as Samsung also gained after U.S. chip maker Advanced Micro Devices Inc. posted stronger-than-expected revenue, and after Microsoft Corp. slightly raised full-year forecasts.

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