Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s largest maker of TVs, maintained its lead in Europe’s flat TV market in the first half of the year, industry data showed on Monday.

The South Korean tech behemoth accounted for 38 percent of Europe’s flat TV market in the January-June period, according to the data compiled by market researcher GfK.

LG Electronics Inc., Samsung’s hometown rival, came in second with a 16.6 percent share, followed by Phillips with a 9.9 percent share, they showed.

Samsung accounted for 39.6 percent of Europe’s liquid crystal display TV market in the first half of the year, and also garnered 44.1 percent of the region’s smart TV market.

Samsung, also the world’s largest smartphone maker, clinched a 44.3 percent share in Europe’s 3D TV market, according to the data. Samsung fared better than its rivals in Europe’s large-size LCD TV market on the back of a varied product line-up. (Yonhap News)