LG Display flags turnaround after sixth consecutive quarterly loss

By Joyce Lee and Heekyong Yang

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean flatscreen maker LG Display (NYSE:) flagged a return to profit in the current quarter, after posting on Wednesday its sixth consecutive quarterly loss, hit by continued weakness in premium TV demand.

Stockpiles of display panels used in mobile phones have been falling throughout the year, leading to a likely rebound in demand, the Apple (NASDAQ:) supplier said.

Shares in LG Display rose 2.1% after the earnings result, gaining ground versus a 0.5% drop in the wider market.

“We expect to achieve a turnaround in profit in the fourth quarter as excessive panel inventory adjustments are eased in downstream industries,” LG Display Chief Financial Officer Sung-hyun Kim said.

Panel shipments for mid- and large-sized organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays and new mobile devices are also increasing to meet year-end seasonal demand, Kim added.

Mobile display panel orders are concentrated in the second half of the year, when panels for Apple’s latest mobile products are produced before the holiday season.

LG Display posted an operating loss of 662 billion won ($491.11 million) for the July-September quarter versus a loss of 759 billion won a year earlier.

The result was slightly worse than a forecast loss of 610 billion won from 15 analysts polled by LSEG SmartEstimate, weighted toward analysts who are more consistently accurate.

But the figure narrowed losses from the second quarter’s 881 billion won.

Third-quarter revenue fell 29% from a year earlier, to 4.8 trillion won.

Analysts said third-quarter losses were driven by continued sluggish demand for premium OLED TVs and a delay in shipping iPhone screens to Apple due to an assembly issue involving another firm in the supply chain.

The issue has been resolved, and display shipments for Apple’s smartphones are on track and likely to help improve profitability in the current quarter, analysts said.

($1=1,347.9600 won)