LG Display net profit falls sharply in Q3

LG Display said Wednesday its third-quarter net profit fell sharply from a year earlier, although it managed to return to an operating profit on foreign exchange gains and a slight increase in LCD panel prices.

Net profit came to 17.5 billion won ($15.4 million), down 96.33 percent from a year earlier, the company said in its regulatory filing.

Operating profit also fell 76.1 percent over the cited period to reach 140 billion won. The figure, however, marked an improvement from the operating loss of 228 billion won posted in the second quarter.

Sales moved down 12.49 percent on-year in the July-September period to reach 6.1 trillion won. In terms of sales, TV panels accounted for 41 percent, followed by mobile products at 21 percent. Laptops and tablet PC panels accounted for 20 percent, trailed by monitor panels at 18 percent.

LG Display posted its first quarterly operating loss in the January-March period in six years, which continued through the second quarter.

The company said the operating profit in the third quarter was made possible through increased returns from high-end products.

LG Display also said the organic light-emitting diode (OLED) business posted its first quarterly earnings since it produced the world’s first OLED TV panels in January 2013.

While the company posted operating profit for the third quarter, market watchers said it does not necessarily mean that LG Display is on a recovery track as the average price of liquid crystal display (LCD) TV panels is expected to lose ground fourth quarter.

The outlook came as Chinese firms have been aggressively expanding their LCD panel production lines, which is anticipated to weigh down global market prices.

LG Display Chief Financial Officer Kim Sang-don said the company will continue to expand its portfolio of OLED products, and seek to create profits by speeding up efforts to make distinctive LCD products that cater to demand.

Shares of LG Display closed at 17,200 won, down 0.29 percent from the previous session.

Yonhap