LG Display swings to profit in Q2

By Kim Yoo-chul

LG Display said Thursday that it swung to profit in the second quarter, thanks to solid demand for smartphone panels and television sets.

The firm posted a net profit of 105 billion won ($93 million) in the April-June period, compared with a loss of 112 billion won a year earlier, it said in a regulatory filing.

It was a better-than-expected performance by the display giant.

Operating profit reached 365.9 billion won, beating earlier market consensus of some 250 billion won. That was up 53 percent from a year ago.

It’s revenue totaled 6.57 trillion won which was down by 5 percent year-on-year.

The firm said that its profits have increased for the fifth straight quarter.

“Despite unfavorable business factors, we succeeded in selling more premium displays. Our strategy to differentiate products than those by competitors paid off,” said company spokesman Lee Sang-wook.

By category, LCD panels for TVs accounted for 51 percent of the total revenue, followed by applications for monitors with 21 percent, displays for notebook PCs with 11 percent, panels for tablets with 7 percent and mobiles with 10 percent.

The brisk sales of panels are helping the firm improve its financial soundness. As of the end of March, LG Display’s debt-to-asset ratio stood at 118 percent, but it will decrease significantly, the firm said.

Its earnings are expected to peak in the third quarter as Apple ㅡ LG’s top client ㅡ is seen to release its new gadgets this year. Spokesman Lee declined to comment on the Apple effect, saying he is not authorized to comment on individual issues related to clients.

CEO Han Sang-beom will meet with the local media at its main display complex in the provincial city of Paju ㅡ a city near the North-South border ㅡ on the evening of July 22 and talk about his business plans.