Seoul: LG Display Co., a global leader in display panel manufacturing, announced that it remained unprofitable in the first quarter of this year, although the deficit narrowed due to increased sales of its premium products. In a regulatory filing, the company reported a net loss of 237 billion won (US$165.7 million) for the January-March period, compared to a deficit of 761.3 billion won during the same period last year.
According to Yonhap News Agency, LG Display reported an operating profit of 33.5 billion won, a significant turnaround from a loss of 469.4 billion won a year ago. The company's revenue also saw a 15.5 percent year-on-year increase, reaching 6.06 trillion won. The net loss was mainly attributed to the depreciation of the Korean won, which increased the valuation of its foreign currency-denominated debts during the quarter.
The company noted that robust sales of premium organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels significantly contributed to the rise in revenue and operating profit for the first quarter. OLED products represented 55 percent of the company's total sales, an increase of 8 percentage points from the previous year. TV panel sales accounted for 22 percent of total revenue, while PC monitor and laptop panels made up 35 percent. Mobile panels contributed 34 percent to the revenue.
LG Display emphasized its commitment to strengthening its competitiveness in the flagship OLED business and continuing efforts to improve operational efficiency.