LG Display raises OLED sales target

LG Display plant in Paju, Gyeonggi Province (LG Display)

LG Display said Wednesday it would focus investment on OLED displays this year, seeking to continue growth momentum after it posted the first profit in seven quarters in the October-December period last year.

“The panel demand, which has been volatile over the past three years due to COVID-19, is expected to stabilize this year. … We have raised our internal OLED panel shipment goal for this year by 20 percent on-year,” an LG Display official said during the company’s earnings conference.

The display maker’s renewed OLED push comes after it posted an operating profit of 131.7 billion won ($98.4 million) in the fourth quarter, compared to an operating loss of 875.7 billion won a year prior.

The figure was higher than the consensus of 120.6 trillion won by local analysts provided by market intelligence FnGuide.

The company offered a rosy outlook for this year, saying OLED adoption among high-end devices is expected to increase. Its key client Apple, for instance, aims to sell some 10 million OLED iPads this year, of which LG Display is expected to supply some 60 percent.

In a bid to continue the momentum, the company decided to initiate a paid-in capital increase worth 1.43 trillion won to strengthen its competitiveness in all areas of the OLED business, including large displays for TVs and smaller ones for mobile devices and cars.

With the newly secured funds, LG Display said it plans to invest 416 billion won in production facilities and 622 billion won to secure raw materials this year.

The company also said it will spend an additional 2 trillion won this year, which compares to last year’s 3.6 trillion won, to enhance financial stability.

On the day, the company reported a net profit of 50.5 billion won in the fourth quarter, swinging from a loss of 2.09 trillion won a year prior.

Quarterly sales jumped 55 percent to 7.4 trillion won, thanks to increased panel shipments for OLED mobile devices, TVs and IT products in response to seasonal demand in the October-December period.

Of the total, panels sold for TVs and IT devices accounted for 18 percent and 31 percent, respectively, while panel shipments for mobile and other devices took up 44 percent and automobiles sat at 7 percent. The OLED portion’s overall sales contribution rose to 57 percent.

LG Display, however, said its full-year operating loss amounted to 2.51 trillion won in 2023, compared with the previous year’s 2.09 trillion won.

It logged a net loss of 2.57 trillion won last year, compared to a net loss of 2.62 trillion won a year earlier.

By Jie Ye-eun(yeeun@heraldcorp.com)