LG Display Co, the world’s second-largest maker of liquid-crystal displays, expects losses to end before the end of June because of rising panel prices, chief executive officer Kwon Young-soo said yesterday.
“The second quarter will definitely be better and we expect one of the months in the quarter to achieve a break-even point,” Kwon said.
“Panel prices will rise and there may be a slight shortage,” Kwon said.
On Thursday, LG Display reported a first-quarter net loss of 255 billion won (US$191 million), compared with the median 319 billion won deficit estimate in a survey of 12 analysts by Bloomberg.
The Seoul-based company said demand was stronger than expected and panel prices were showing signs of a recovery.
Macquarie Group Ltd increased its share-price estimate on LG Display by 25 percent to 32,500 won yesterday and said the company would post an operating profit this year, compared with an earlier projection for a loss.
“It’s a comfort for Taiwan flat panel makers,” Fubon Securities Co (富邦證券) trader Shawn Wang said.
“It means a better near-term outlook for us too. This adds to our expectation that flat panel prices may rise in May and June,” Wang said.
Taiwan has a 30 percent share of the global flat panel market in the three months that ended on March 31, while South Korea has about 60 percent, the Taipei-based market researcher WitsView Technology Corp said.
But, because of profit-taking, shares of AU Optronics Corp (友達光電), Taiwan’s largest producer of liquid-crystal displays, which is scheduled to report its first-quarter earnings next week, dropped 1.54 percent to NT$32, while rival Chi Mei Optoelectronics (奇美電子) fell limit-down to NT$17.95.
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