LG Display dramatically narrows loss in 2020, Q4 OP four-fold vs qtr

[Photo provided by LG Display Co.]

LG Display Co. significantly narrowed operating losses in 2020 as it made money throughout the latter half on surge in demand for high-end panels for TVs and IT devices to indulge homebound global consumers amid pandemic environment.

The South Korean display panel maker disclosed Wednesday that its operating income for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2020 was estimated at 685.5 billion won ($621.8 million) on a consolidated basis. The figure is more than quadrupled from the previous quarter when it snapped a losing streak that had continued for six straight quarters. In the same period a year ago, its loss from operations amounted to 421.9 billion won. Sales totaled at 7.46 trillion won, up 11 percent on quarter and 16 percent on year.

The fourth-quarter operating profit far exceeded the market consensus of 377.4 billion won, compiled by Yonhap Infomax.

The company estimated 621 billion won in net profit, surging from 11.1 billion won profit in the previous quarter and turning around from a loss of 1.8 trillion won a year ago.

On Wednesday, shares of LG Display closed down 4.98 percent at 22,900 won, taking a breather after days of gains.

For full 2020, LG Display recorded an operating loss of 29.1 billion won, compared with 1.4 trillion won in operating loss in the previous year. Net loss also shrank to 70.6 billion won from 2.9 trillion won over the same period, while sales grew 3.2 percent on year to 24.2 trillion won.

The company attributed its strong earnings to a steady growth in demand for its large-sized OLED panels and plastic OLEDs (P-OLED) panels that helped boost its overall panel shipments and business profit, despite a cut in LCD shipments, as well as keep the overall panel prices steady.

In the fourth quarter, the OLED panel orders from TV and IT device makers stayed robust on still strong demand from homebound consumers, working and studying from home to avoid Covid-19 infections. OLED panel shipments per unit area rose 5 percent on quarter and price per unit area soared 12 percent, according to LG Display. OLED panel prices are generally higher than LCD panels.

By use, display panels for IT devices accounted for the largest 37 percent of the total sales. TV panel sales contributed 29 percent, and others including those for mobile devices made up 34 percent of the company¡¯s fourth-quarter sales.

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