LGD looks at the Q1 panel price and estimates the decline in double digits

South Korean panel factory LGD law said that the fourth quarter of the industry profit quarterly reduction of 10%, about 47.6 million won, after-tax net profit of about 18 million won, quarterly decrease of 61.2%, the cumulative annual net profit after tax of about 1.33 trillion won, compared with the previous year turned into a profit. Looking forward to the first quarter, under the traditional off-season effect, LGD expects the shipment area to decrease by 5 to 9%, and the average shipment unit price still has a double-digit decline, of which the decline in IT panels is relatively heavy.

The LGD method said that under the high-end IT panel shipments, the fourth quarter revenue still had a growth of more than 20% and reached 8.8 trillion won, but due to the impact of the price decline, the gross profit margin was about 14.9%, a decrease of 3.2 percentage points compared with the previous quarter. Operating profit for the fourth quarter was approximately KRW 47.6 million, down 10% from the previous quarter, while net profit after tax declined by 61.2% to KRW 18 million.

For the full year of 2021, consolidated revenue was approximately KRW 29.878 trillion, an increase of 23.15% over the previous year, with an average gross margin of approximately 17.8%, operating profit of approximately 2.23 trillion won and net profit after tax of approximately KRW 1.33 trillion, which was a performance of turning a loss into a profit compared to 2022.

For the outlook for the first quarter of 2022, LGD said that although there are seasonal factors, but the B2B market demand is relatively stable, or support the shipment performance, it is estimated that the average shipment area in the first quarter will be reduced by 5 to 9% compared with the previous quarter, but the panel price decline continues, and the average shipment unit price is estimated to have a double-digit decline. The industry is quite concerned about the trend of subsequent panel prices, LGD said that after the big decline in the second half of last year, the price trend of TV panels will tend to ease, but this year to see more panel production capacity into IT panel applications, but also caused THE it panels to fall more than TV panels. In the first quarter, the decline in TV panel prices has slowed down, and the decline in IT panels has expanded, but it is still heavier than the decline in low-end panels such as TN and VA. From a demand outlook, in the post-pandemic era, the demand for B2C is reduced, and B2B-related demand is expected to grow as employees return to the office and business activities resume.

Last year, the overall TV market declined slightly, but OLED TV shipments grew by more than 70%, and LGD's OLED TV panel business turned into a profit in the second half of last year. Capital expenditure this year was about KRW 2 trillion, mainly for the expansion of production capacity of small and medium-sized OLED panels and OLED TV panels. In the LCD business, LGD will continue to focus on high-end IT panel applications and strengthen strategic cooperation with customers.

Source: Taiwan Business Times

Cover image source: Paixin.com