Samsung SDI Turns Big Quarterly Profit

By Kim Yoo-chul

Staff Reporter

Samsung SDI, a maker of lithium-ion batteries and AM OLED screens, was confirmed as one of the winners among related global parts suppliers amid the rising popularity of the components-embedded consumer electronics including smartphones.

In a regulatory filing to the Korea Exchange (KRX), the South Korea-based company said its first quarter operating profit spiked by 72 percent year-on-year to reach 64.6 billion won.

Sales for the first three months of this year also rose by 17.8 percent at 1.2 trillion won during the same period.

Quarterly net profit, however, declined by 12 percent at 46.7 billion won mainly due to the foreign currency fluctuation, it said in the filing.

SDI has announced its financial statements under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

"Although the dollar-won rates were unfavorable, the steady demand for lithium-ion batteries and the lucrative growths in our plasma displays helped SDI achieve such results," a company spokesman Seo Hae-su said, Wednesday.

SDI, which aims to become the leading lithium-ion batteries used in mobile gadgets and electric vehicles (EVs) by the end of this year, is also positive about the current quarter.

Seo of SDI said the company expects the lithium-ion battery market to rise by about 10 percent in the April-June period on the back of the healthy demand for notebook PCs including those of tablet PCs and strengthening smartphone lineups by major handset vendors.

Also, the calls for the shipments of more plasma panels from leading TV manufacturers are forecast to rise at a time when TV set makers are busy trying to introduce relatively less-pricey three dimensional (3D) TVs than those equipped with LED-backlit LCD panels.

"We expect PDP display demand to grow 6 percent in the April-June period from three months before, with the portion of big screens growing as demand from 3D TV makers is on the rise," Seo said.

PDP panels have a more competitive edge compared to LCDs in 3D TVs as the plasma panels have wider viewing angles and faster response times than LCD panels.

It has been made known that Apple of the United States may use AM OLED screens for its next iPads. Analysts say that would further boost Samsung SDI, if this materializes.