LG Display's Comeback: OLED Drives Surprising Profit Turnaround

LG Display Co, Ltd LPL reported a fourth-quarter FY23 revenue growth of 1% to KRW 7.4 trillion.

Revenues increased by 55% sequentially, driven by the rise in panel shipments for OLED mobile devices, TVs, and IT products in response to seasonal demand.

LG Display said it achieved a turnaround and has returned to profitability for the first time in seven quarters, spurred on by the expansion of high-value-added products centered on OLED.

Panels for TVs accounted for 18% of revenues in the fourth quarter. Panels for IT devices, including monitors, laptops, and tablet PCs, accounted for 31%, panels for mobiles and other devices accounted for 44%, and panels for automobiles accounted for 7%. All in all, OLED’s overall revenue contribution rose to 57%.

The gross margin of 11.7% compared to a margin loss of (0.3)% a year ago. Operating income of KRW 132 billion versus a KRW (876) billion loss a year ago. The margin of 1.8% compared to a margin loss of (12)% a year ago.

The net income of KRW is 51 billion, compared to the net loss of KRW (2.09) trillion a year ago. EBITDA climbed 509% Y/Y to KRW 1.27 trillion. The margin of 17.2% compared to 2.9% a year ago.

“Although market volatility will continue this year due to prolonged unstable macroeconomic conditions, we will focus on creating customer value and securing profitability by strengthening the competitiveness of our OLED businesses and future growth bases,” said Sung-Hyun Kim, CFO.

LG Display supplies screens for Apple Inc’s AAPL new headset Vision Pro, which starts sales next month, and analysts expect it to boost the supply of liquid crystal display (LCD) panels for Samsung Electronics Co, Ltd SSNLF opens new tab TVs this year, Reuters cites analysts.

LG Display shared plans to cut 2024 investment to around KRW 2 trillion versus KRW 3.6 trillion in 2023 to strengthen “financial soundness.”

Price Action: LPL shares traded higher by 1.93% at $5.27 premarket Wednesday.