LG Display Co.’s fourth-quarter operating profit dropped 95 percent from a year earlier due to falling panel prices, a strong won and massive one-off investment in organic light-emitting diode (OLED) manufacturing facilities.

South Korea`s top display maker said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday that it posted an operating profit of 44.5 billion won ($41.6 million) in the October-December period, down 92 percent from the previous quarter and 95 percent from a year earlier. Sales amounted to 7.13 trillion won, up 2 percent on quarter but down 10 percent on year.

Shares of LG Display closed Tuesday up 5.85 percent at 32,550 won.

The lackluster performance in the final quarter was largely due to the downward pressure on panel prices since late last year, the company said. The strong won against major currencies has also weighed on exports, undermining its price competitiveness abroad. The won appreciated 14 percent last year against the U.S. dollar.

The firm said its bottom line was also hurt by the large-scale investment in OLED. Last year, the company vowed to spend 15 trillion won in OLED display production by 2020 to make OLED its mainstay product in TVs and mobile devices. Earlier this month, it upped the initial investment amount to 20 trillion won. As part of its OLED investment plan, LG Display said in a separate statement it will invest about 9 trillion won in large and small-size OLED panels to accelerate its shift to the premium display market.

Annually, the company posted its highest-ever operating profit at 2.46 trillion won for full 2017, up 87.7 percent from the previous year. Sales were up 4.9 percent at 27.8 trillion won.

The company also announced on Monday the board’s decision to pay out dividends of 500 won per share. The move will be finalized at the next shareholders’ meeting in March.

By Lee Jae-cheol and Kim Hyo-jin

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