LG Electronics Inc. was more profitable than Samsung Electronics Co. in the home appliance business in 2016 despite a gap in their overall revenue, industry data showed Tuesday.

LG's home entertainment, home appliance and air solution divisions chalked up an operating profit of 2.57 trillion won ($2.19 billion) on sales of 34.6 trillion won in 2016, according to the data. The company's operating margin in the appliance business, or the ratio of operating profit to sales, came to 7.4 percent.

Samsung Electronics' consumer electronics segment, meanwhile, posted an operating profit of 2.64 trillion won on revenue of 47.5 trillion won, but its operating margin stood at 5.6 percent in 2016, the data showed.

Despite LG's higher operating margin in the home appliance segment, its sales were dwarfed by those of Samsung, the largest company in South Korea.

"Samsung Electronics overwhelmingly beat LG Electronics in terms of overall profitability, but the two companies are neck and neck in the home appliance segment," said an industry watcher not to be named.

Samsung's operating margin reached 3.3 percent in 2013, higher than LG's 3 percent. In 2014, however, LG's operating margin rose to 3.1 percent, while the number for Samsung fell to 2.4 percent.

In 2015, LG's operating margin came to 3.1 percent, while the number for Samsung stood at 2.7 percent. (Yonhap)