LG Display reports record loss in Q4 on weak demand

LG Display's OLED television panel [LG DISPLAY]

LG Display reported a worse-than-expected quarterly loss Friday, after being hit by weak demand for its panel products and falling prices.

The panel maker posted a net loss of 2.09 trillion won for the October-December period, swinging from a profit of 179.5 billion won a year earlier. Sales fell 17.1 percent to 7.3 trillion won.

The company reported operating loss of 875.7 billion won ($709.3 million) for the fourth quarter, compared with profit of 476.4 billion won a year ago, as high inflation and rate hikes continued to sap consumers' appetite for tech gadgets.

The operating loss was 11.8 percent higher than the average estimate, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency.

LG Display went into a deficit in the second quarter for the first time in two years as a pandemic-driven boom in IT devices ended amid rising costs and interest rates.

Demand has been falling rapidly over the past several months for liquid-crystal display (LCD) and premium organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels. Poor macroeconomic conditions have also caused enterprise demand to slow.

According to research firm Canalys, global shipments of desktops and notebooks fell 16 percent on-year to 285.1 million units last year. Smartphone shipments also declined by 11 percent to fewer than 1.2 billion last year

The research firm predicted the challenging environment for the PC industry will continue until the second half of the year, and flat to marginal growth for the smartphone market this year.

For the entirety of 2022, LG Display reported a net loss of 3.19 trillion won, swinging from a profit of 1.33 trillion won a year earlier.

Its operating loss hit a record low of 2.08 trillion won for the year, compared with profit of 2.23 trillion won a year ago. Annual revenue fell 12.5 percent to 26.15 trillion won.

LG Display said a decline in demand for TV sets and panels, coupled with all-time low LCD panel prices, significantly impacted the company's overall performance.

Panels for TVs accounted for 25 percent of the revenue in the fourth quarter, while panels for IT devices, including monitors, laptops and tablets, accounted for 34 percent, and those for mobile devices and the others accounted for 34 percent. Automotive panels took up 7 percent.

The company said it will cut its investment budget to establish a sound financial structure, and plans to expand its high-value made-to-order businesses amid high macroeconomic uncertainty and sluggish demand.

The panel maker has accelerated its push into the automotive panel industry, a sector considered to be a future growth engine.

During CES 2023 in Las Vegas earlier this month, it set up a booth specialized in cutting-edge automotive panels for the first time at the world's biggest tech show, where it showcased a self-driving concept car.

The company said there was huge growth potential in the global automotive panel business, as demand has risen sharply in recent years due to the popularity of electric vehicles, and better connectivity and electronics in vehicles.

The automotive display market is forecast to grow 8.7 percent annually to reach $10.5 billion in 2025, according to research firm Omdia.

BY PARK EUN-JEE, YONHAP [park.eunjee@joongang.co.kr]