LG Display stakes all on OLED

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Mon, May 21, 2018 | 08:38

LG Display stakes all on OLED

Posted : 2018-05-15 15:31

Updated : 2018-05-15 19:08

LG Display CEO and Vice Chairman Han Sang-beom talks about key features of OLED displays during an industry forum in this file photo. Korea Times file

By Kim Yoo-chul

Hit by the industry's continued supply glut and a massive transition by major television manufacturers to prioritize revenue rather than growth in unit shipments, LG Display has decided to build the world's most-advanced organic light emitting diode (OLED) production line in Korea.

"LG Display will apply the industry's highly-advanced 10.5 generation glass-cutting technology for the new OLED line at the company's P10 facility in Paju, the city near the North border," said an official directly involved with the project, Tuesday.

The initial investment, which includes changes in net working capital except for cash and short-term debt, would be between 1.5 trillion won and 2 trillion won. It could rise up to 6 trillion won depending on the market situations.

The official said LG Display, partly owned by LG Electronics, plans to invest more into the new facility than earlier scheduled and added the company will notify the Korea Exchange of relevant details once the plan receives approval from the board of directors.

The 10.5-generation production line could handle "significantly larger" mother substrates from which smaller panels could be cut. This will enable LG Display to produce between 80 inch to 100 inch panels, theoretically, and possibly even larger OLED TVs depending on how the company decides to allocate capacity.

The official claimed the initial monthly capacity of the new line would be around 45,000 glass sheets, up 50 percent from earlier.

An LG Display spokesman said the manufacturer is in the process of adjusting its investment plans to meet business needs. "Given the market situation, it's possible to switch the usage of the P10 plant towards OLEDs and away from LCDs," he said.

It recently ordered its top-tier component suppliers to be prepared for equipment installation in the plant.

The company reported operating losses during the January-March period, for the first time in six years as the industry's oversupply hit panel prices. The display market is being saturated by budget Chinese companies getting in the segment. LG's cash-equivalent assets this year are seen to remain at 7.5 trillion won, less than its projected 9 trillion won facility investment.

LG Display is a top-tier display supplier to Apple, while it sells OLED panels to leading TV manufacturers. Its key client list includes Sony, Philips, Panasonic and several Chinese companies.

"In terms of unit shipments, the TV market has seen declines for three consecutive years since 2015. Now, major TV manufacturers are focusing more on revenue than just volume growth, with the added value that OLED TV offers higher-resolution and wide color-gamut display," said IHK Markit, a market research firm.

Given LG's position as the world's largest display supplier, the key question would be "Will Samsung join in making OLED TVs?" The global TV leader Samsung isn't the only major firm that hasn't been making OLED TVs.

LG has taken the OLED tech and expanded it to larger screen sizes for use in TVs as it offers certain advantages — OLED is self-emissive and makes TVs using the panel much more stylish as they don't require bulky backlight.

LG's OLED gamble brought mixed results as this is pricey but paid off in certain points when OLED TVs reached mass-market price points and LG bumped its long-time rival Samsung off the number one spot in terms of premium TV sales.

While LG might not relish the growing competition, others have to purchase from it because it essentially has a monopoly on panel production.

yckim@ktimes.com