LG Display's Q3 operating profit falls 42% despite higher OLED shipments

[Financial News] LG Display Co., Ltd.'s operating profit for the third quarter of this year fell 42% from a year earlier. However, the company returned to profitability in just one quarter, buoyed by increased shipments of large-screen and mobile organic light-emitting diode (OLED) products and a higher proportion of high-value-added products. LG Display Co., Ltd. plans to accelerate profitability improvements by further refining its OLED-centered business structure, developing next-generation technologies and innovating to reduce costs. 
LG Display Co., Ltd. said on the 22nd that it recorded consolidated revenue of 6.277 trillion won and operating profit of 250.6 billion won for the third quarter of this year. Revenue fell 10% year over year but rose 12% from the previous quarter. Operating profit was down 42% from 431 billion won in the same period last year, but the company returned to profit in just one quarter, compared with an operating loss of 107.7 billion won in the previous quarter. 
The decline in revenue was due to reduced shipments of mid-sized liquid crystal display (LCD) products as the company managed its product portfolio with a focus on profitability. By contrast, shipments of large-screen and mobile OLED products increased as the seasonal peak season began.
LG Display Co., Ltd. said, "Despite the burden of a decline in the won-dollar exchange rate and rising prices for components such as semiconductors, operating profit improved from the previous quarter, thanks to a higher proportion of high-value-added products centered on OLED and improved operational efficiency."  
LG Display Co., Ltd. plans to continue shifting its business structure toward OLED while strengthening its stable earnings base through differentiated technological competitiveness and cost innovation.
In its small- and mid-sized OLED business, the company will improve the competitiveness of high-value-added mobile products and expand its market position based on stable supply capabilities. For IT OLED, it will focus on improving profitability through operations centered on high-value-added products and stronger cost competitiveness. In its large-sized OLED business, it plans to strengthen its position in the premium TV market while responding to customer demand with competitively priced products. For monitor OLED, the company will step up its push into the market by expanding its gaming product lineup featuring proprietary technology. 
The company is also accelerating development of next-generation OLED technologies. LG Display Co., Ltd. recently succeeded in developing FLIPP, a next-generation OLED patterning technology. It aims to build its technological competitiveness on proprietary technology and accumulated production know-how, and turn that into tangible business results.
Sunghyun Kim, chief financial officer (CFO) of LG Display Co., Ltd., said, "Amid continued uncertainty in the external business environment, including fluctuations in exchange rates and component prices, we focused on strengthening business competitiveness and improving operational efficiency in the third quarter as well." Kim added, "We will continue to pursue differentiated technological competitiveness and cost innovation to improve our ability to respond to changes in the external environment and further strengthen the foundation for stable profit generation." 
[email protected] Lim Su-bin Reporter