Panels for TVs accounted for 28% of the revenue in the fourth quarter of 2019, 4% down from the previous
quarter due to sales decline in commodity LCD TV panels which resulted from its efforts towards structural innovation in the LCD business. Panels for mobile devices accounted for 36%, an 8% quarter-on-quarter increase, driven by the shipment increase of POLED panels for smartphones, while those for tablets and notebook PCs accounted for 20% and desktop monitors for 16% respectively.
LG Display recorded 185% in the liability-to-equity ratio, 93% in the current
ratio, and 81% in the net debt-to-equity ratio as of December 31, 2019. Some ratios are affected by the asset impairment.
LG Display saw its net loss widen in the fourth quarter due to asset impairment. However, as this is an asset reduction only on the books without actual
cash expenditure, it does not really affect operating profit or cash flow. To some extent, factoring in asset impairment this time means depreciation costs will be reduced by KRW 300 billion each year going forward. The liability-to-equity ratio which was temporarily increased by the asset impairment is expected to start to gradually improve down the road, said Dong-hee Suh, CFO and
Senior Vice President of LG Display.
He added, As the current business environment for POLED is somewhat challenging but also presents many
business opportunities ahead, LG Display will consistently maintain our strategic direction regarding POLED business and build a sound base for growth. In addition, we will make efforts to achieve a significant revenue increase in large-size OLED panels as our OLED plant in China will ramp up production, and continue to stably manage forecasts for POLED panels for smartphones as well as for automobiles which we will increase the shipment
during the first half of this year. All these efforts will create meaningful opportunities for earnings improvement from the second half.
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Earnings Conference Call
LG Display will hold a bilingual conference call in English and Korean on January 31, 2020 starting at 8:30 AM Korea Standard Time (KST) to
announce the fourth quarter of 2019 earnings results. Investors can listen to the conference call via https://irsvc.teletogether.com/lgdisplay/lgdisplay2019Q4_eng.php
About LG Display
LG Display Co., Ltd. [NYSE: LPL, KRX:
034220] is the worlds leading innovator of display technologies, including thin-film transistor liquid crystal (TFT-LCD) and OLED displays. The company manufactures display panels in a broad range of
sizes and specifications primarily for use in TVs, notebook computers, desktop monitors, and various other applications, including tablets and mobile devices. LG Display currently operates manufacturing facilities in Korea and China, and back-end assembly facilities in Korea, China, and Vietnam. The company has approximately 59,000 employees operating worldwide. For more news and information about LG Display, please visit www.lgdisplay.com.