LG Display posts fourth quarterly loss on price-fixing settlement

LG Display Co., the world's No. 2 maker of liquid crystal display (LCD) screens, said Thursday it stayed in the red for the fourth straight quarter as a one-off payment for a price-rigging settlement outweighed recovering profitability.

Net loss came to 112.3 billion won ($98 million) in the April-June period, shifting to negative territory from the previous year, the company said in a regulatory filing.

The quarterly figure, however, narrowed from a 129.2 billion won loss tallied in the previous three month period.

Revenue rose 14.3 percent on-year to a record 6.9 trillion won.

Operating loss came to 25.5 billion won, marking the seventh consecutive quarterly operating loss.

The quarterly loss was attributed to funds that were put aside for LG Display's US$380 million settlement over a U.S. class-action lawsuit on alleged LCD price fixing.

The South Korean display giant was one of several Asian companies, including Japan's Toshiba Corp. and Sharp Corp., that were accused of fixing LCD panel prices. U.S. consumers and eight state governments claimed the actions drove up prices of products containing the panels.

Earlier this month, the display giant said it agreed to pay the due amount to settle the case but denied the allegations.

Shares of LG Display closed up 4.04 percent at 21,900 won on the Seoul bourse. The quarterly results were released after the market closed. (Yonhap News)