South Korea-based LG Electronics Inc said on Wednesday that its second-quarter profit fell 60 percent as sales of TVs and smartphones slid under weaker demand and intense competition.

LG, the world's second-largest TV producer after Samsung Electronics Co, said second-quarter operating profit fell to 244 billion won ($211 million) from 610 billion won a year earlier.

That was its weakest three-month profit since the fourth quarter of 2013, and it was well below the 395 billion won mean estimate in a Thomson Reuters survey of 33 analysts.

"While the second quarter was more challenging than expected, LG is confident it can recover lost ground in the third quarter with new competitive products and more effective marketing initiatives," the company said in a statement.

But as LG struggles to make its smartphones stand out in an increasingly crowded field, many analysts have slashed forecasts for the company in recent weeks, citing slack global TV sales and weaker emerging market currencies that sap the company's profit margins.

The TV division recorded an operating loss of 82.7 billion won, its worst performance since the fourth quarter of 2010, compared with a 159 billion won profit a year earlier and a 6.2 billion won loss in the first quarter.

The mobile communications division eked out a 200 million won profit as smartphone shipments shrank.

While LG launched its G4 flagship smartphone in South Korea in late April, analysts said the phone did not offer enough new features to stand out against competing devices, such as Apple Inc's iPhone 6 models and Samsung Electronics' Galaxy S6 models.

The company's stock touched its lowest level in more than 12 years last week, reflecting growing worries about its business outlook. On Wednesday, the shares closed up 1.7 percent, before earnings were published, while the benchmark Seoul index ended 1 percent lower.