LG Display has announced plans to invest in and expand the production of large, medium, and small OLED displays in 2024 and beyond.
LG Display's transition from LCD to OLED has been costly, and the company has faced challenges post-COVID-19 due to the slump in TV demand. However, the company posted its first operating profit in Q4 2023 after seven quarters of losses.
It now intends to raise 1.29 trillion won ($971 million) through a capital increase to bolster its OLED business.
- "The company is increasing the proportion of OLED products in all business areas, ranging from large, medium and small. From 2024, the large-scale area is expected to expand its customer base, and the medium-scale area plans to start mass production of OLED products for IT devices. In the small area, we expect the shipment volume to increase based on the expanded production capacity in 2023," LG Display said in a statement to the Korea Times.
LG Display is planning to make its META (MLA) technology available more widely in OLED panels in the future to make screens brighter. Photo: LG
OLED panels are projected to become increasingly prevalent in tablets and laptops in the coming years. Both Samsung Display and BOE have already announced plans to construct new factories to accommodate this shift. Although LG Display has yet to commit, reports suggest that the company is planning to proceed with a new 8.6G OLED IT factory, which will require billions of dollars in additional investment in the near future.
20% more OLED TV panels in 2024
LG Display stated that it expects production of OLED TV panels to increase by 20% in 2024 compared to last year.
LG Display already has the production capacity to produce more OLED TV panels, as it had to scale down production in 2023 to match the lower demand for TVs from consumers.
In 2024, LG Display will start supplying WOLED TV panels to Samsung Electronics for the S90D and S85D ranges. It already supplies Hisense, LG Electronics, Sony, Panasonic, Philips, and many others with WOLED panels
- "As the amount of raw material purchases is expected to increase significantly, we plan to use 622.2 billion won of the funds raised through this capital increase for the purchase of raw materials to expand the number of OLED customers and respond to new products," it said.
- Source: Korea Times
