LG Display returned to operating profit in the third quarter as stronger OLED shipments helped offset rising semiconductor costs and currency pressures.
The panel maker reported revenue of KRW 6.28 trillion (approximately €4.22 billion), up 12 per cent from the previous quarter but down 10 per cent annually.
Operating profit reached KRW 250.6 billion (approximately €168 million), reversing the previous quarter’s KRW 107.7 billion loss (approximately €72 million).
The recovery still left operating profit below KRW 431 billion (approximately €289 million), the level recorded a year earlier.
Higher shipments of large-screen and mobile OLED panels drove the sequential revenue increase during the peak season.
The annual revenue decline partly reflected reduced shipments of mid-sized LCD products as LG Display shifted its product mix towards more profitable business.
The company said higher-value OLED products and improved operating efficiency helped offset unfavourable exchange-rate movements and semiconductor price increases.
Net profit reached approximately KRW 756 billion (approximately €508 million). Currency-related gains and losses contributed to the improvement, so the headline figure should be read alongside operating performance.
LG Display chief financial officer Sung-hyun Kim said: “Despite continued uncertainty in the external business environment, including exchange-rate and component-price fluctuations, we focused on strengthening our business competitiveness and improving operational efficiency in the third quarter.”
The company intends to expand its gaming OLED monitor panel business using its proprietary display technologies. For PC buyers, that provides a more useful development to watch than another executive discovering the phrase “cost innovation”.
In television panels, LG Display plans to strengthen its premium range while offering competitively priced products for a broader customer base.
Its small and mid-sized display business will concentrate on higher-end products. The IT panel operation will focus on improving profitability through its product mix and manufacturing costs.
LG Display is developing FLiPP, its next-generation OLED patterning technology, to build technical advantages competitors will struggle to replicate. The company said its next task is to translate those developments into tangible business results.
