[Diary Point=Reporter Eum Joo-yong] LG Display returned to profitability in the third quarter of this year, driven by expanded OLED panel shipments. The company projected that its large OLED panel shipments this year will reach the high 7-million-unit range, up about 20% from a year earlier.
LG Display's consolidated revenue for the third quarter came in at 6.277 trillion won, up 12% from the previous quarter's 5.6121 trillion won, but down 10% from the same period last year. Operating profit stood at 250.6 billion won, swinging back into the black from an operating loss of 107.7 billion won in the prior quarter. Compared with operating profit of 431 billion won in the third quarter of last year, this marks a 42% decline.
Net income came in at 755.6 billion won, reversing a net loss of 418.8 billion won in the previous quarter. For the first three quarters combined, revenue totaled 17.4231 trillion won and operating profit stood at 289.6 billion won. The cumulative net result for the nine months was a loss of 238.9 billion won.
The earnings improvement was driven by seasonal increases in shipments of mobile and large OLED panels, along with a growing share of high-value-added products. However, a weaker exchange rate and rising component prices, including memory chips, were said to have limited the scope of the profitability improvement.
During the earnings conference call, LG Display projected that this year's large OLED panel shipments would reach the high 7-million-unit range, with OLED monitor panels expected to account for about 20% of that total. The company plans to continue upgrading its business structure around OLED—spanning mobile, IT, TV and gaming monitor applications—while pursuing ongoing cost innovation.
Shipments are expected to expand further in the fourth quarter amid the seasonal peak period, though uncertainty remains around set demand due to the effects of advance panel purchasing in the first half of the year and rising component prices.