LG Display’s earnings grow

LG Display’s second-quarter earnings increased both on-quarter and on-year despite the sluggish market environment, the company announced Thursday.

The world’s top flat-panel maker generated 6.6 trillion won ($5.9 billion) in total revenue and 366 billion won in operating profit, according to the company.

Though the company’s total revenue diminished from 6.9 trillion won compared to the same period last year, its operating profit surged by about 130 billion won.

The quarterly operational profit indicated a 53 percent gain from the same period last year and a 142 percent hike compared to the first quarter of this year.

Whereas LG Display suffered a net loss of 112 billion won in the second quarter of last year, it achieved 105 billion won in net profit in the same period this year.

“Despite unfavorable market conditions, we have been able to expand the operational profit due to our innovative solutions such as the in-plane switching technology applied to LCD panels,” LG Display CEO Han Sang-beom said.

“As the industry-leading company, LG Display will continue to improve for our customers and prepare for future market competition.”

According to the company CFO Jeong Ho-young, panel shipments by quantity are expected to rise by up to 5 percent, though the price per unit is expected to decline in the third quarter.

“LG Display’s turnaround from last year will stimulate the financial market,” market analyst Jonathan Hwang at Daewoo Securities Co. said.

“However, we predict that LG Display’s earnings will face a decreasing trend in the near future as there are many Chinese TV companies eyeing LG’s global market share.”

For the remainder of this year though, LG Display will enjoy continued growth in earnings primarily due to the expected release of Apple’s iPhone 5S and other midrange-priced models later this year, according to Hwang.

Apple is a major recipient of LG Display’s flat-panel technologies.

By Kwon Bum-joon (bjkwon@heraldcorp.com)