Samsung SDI Trims Loss on Plasma TVs
By Kim Yoo-chul
Staff Reporter
Samsung SDI, a manufacturer of plasma panel display (PDP) screens and cathode-ray tubes (CRT), narrowed its operating losses in the first quarter, helped by increased demand for PDP TV sets.
On a consolidated basis, which includes overseas performances, the company’s operating profit in the first three months of the year reached 65.5 billion won from a loss of 110.2 billion won a year earlier.
Net losses in the first quarter also fell to 30.6 billion won from a loss of 77.2 billion won a year ago. But sales soared 24 percent to 1.42 trillion won from 1.15 trillion won over the same period.
``The global demand for PDP sets in the second quarter will reach 4 million, up 14 percent from the previous quarter, due to the August Beijing Olympics,’’ a company spokesperson said on Wednesday, adding that the company will accelerate efforts to increase productivity and price competitiveness by expanding distribution channels.
Meanwhile, the company reaffirmed its plan to maintain CRT lines capitalizing on emerging markets such as China, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
``We won’t shut our CRT lines completely because consumer appetite for mid-sized and big-slim bulky TV sets remains strong,’’ the spokesperson said.
Samsung SDI, the first mass producer of next-generation organic light-emitting diode panels using the active-matrix method, said sales of such panels to major TV makers in the quarter increased 24 percent.
``The second quarter will be a turning point for the company as we are about to escape from the burden of heavy restructuring costs,’’ he said.