LG Display Says It’s Up to ‘Challenges’ of More ‘OLED-Focused Business’ Plan

LG Display's Q1 operating loss widened 35 percent from a year earlier to 132 billion South Korean won ($114.7 million), though revenue was up 4 percent to 5.88 trillion won ($5.1 billion), reported the panel maker Wednesday. “Despite the stabilization of larger size panel pricing” during the quarter, average pricing per square meter declined because of fewer shipments of small- and mid-sized panels, which have “relatively higher” average pricing, it said. TV panels were 36 percent of Q1 revenue, smartphones 25 percent, tablets and laptops 22 percent and desktop monitors 17 percent, it said. LG Display “will continue to step up its efforts to shift towards a more OLED-focused business structure,” despite the Q1 operating loss, it said. It’s the world’s only manufacturer capable of producing OLED panels for the TV, mobile and automotive sectors, it said. Its business in large-sized OLED TV panels reached breakeven in 2018's second half and was 20 percent of total TV panel revenue for the year. It’s expected to exceed 30 percent in 2019, it said. “We will continue our efforts this year to overcome the challenges that lie ahead as we shift towards a more OLED-focused business structure,” said Chief Financial Officer Dong-hee Suh. “We believe that we are on track to build a firm foundation for an OLED-focused business portfolio for future growth, and expect to show solid performance starting from next year.” LG Display knew “it wouldn’t be easy” when it “first set eyes” on basing a business on OLED technology, said CEO Sang-Beom Han in a 2015 IFA keynote (see 1509040026). The industry "pricing environment" in TV panels is the best it has been in more than a decade, said Corning executives on recent earnings calls (see 1807250008).