LG Display turns profit amid recovery in demand

LG Display CEO Jeong Cheol-dong speaks at a press conference ahead of CES 2024. [Courtesy of LG Display]

LG Display has successfully turned a profit after seven consecutive quarters, propelled by a resurgence in demand for digital devices and televisions. The South Korean display makers announced its preliminary financial results for the fourth quarter of 2023 on Tuesday with 7.4 trillion won ($5.53 billion) in sales and 131.7 billion won in operating profit, marking a return to quarterly profitability for the first time since the second quarter of 2022.

The operating profit surpassed market expectations by 9.2 percent and on an annual basis, the company posted a consolidated operating loss of 2.51 trillion won over sales of 21.33 trillion won.

The shift to profitability can be attributed to the increased supply of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) products for smartphones and the seasonal surge in demand for large products such as TV and IT panels.

LG Display’s recent turnaround in business performance was also recently acknowledged by CEO Jeong Cheol-dong. Speaking at CES 2024 in Las Vegas, Jeong expressed confidence in the company’s financial stability, saying, “After securing financial soundness, we will achieve a turnaround and will work to return the company to health quickly as well as expedite the turnaround.”

The prospects for LG Display in 2024 seem promising as the industry rebounds. Market research firm Omdia forecasts that the OLED display market, which was valued at $40.6 billion in 2023, is expected to grow to $43.8 billion in 2024.

LG Display showcased its technological prowess at CES, introducing OLED TV panels featuring the innovative ‘Meta Technology 2.0.’ The product was acclaimed for enhancing screen brightness by 42 percent compared to previous models for a groundbreaking luminance of 3,000 nits for large OLED panels.

LG Display also demonstrated its competitiveness in the mobility market by unveiling displays tailored for software-defined vehicles (SDV).