South Korea’s largest panel maker LG Display Co. expects improvement in its balance sheet as the sole producer of organic light-emitting diode display (OLED) for TVs can expand output once its new-generation OLED factory in Guanzhou, China starts operation from August.

The Gen 8.5 line for OLED manufacturing is part of the company’s massive capex plan worth nearly 5 trillion won (4.23 billion) to ramp up output of more profitable, premium OLED panels for large TV screens,

The company posted an operating loss of 132 billion won in the first quarter of this year due to fierce competition with Chinese rivals in the global TV LCD market.

The new plant’s production capacity is set at 60,000 sheets of mother glass per month, and will be gradually scaled up to reach 90,000 sheets. Combined with the 70,000 sheets being produced at its plants in Paju, Korea, LG Display would be capable of churning out 160,000 OLED sheets per month.

LG Display’s shipments of OLED TV panels surged from 1.78 million units in 2017 to 2.95 million units in 2018, and this year’s shipments are expected to reach 3.80 million.

LG Display aims to convert its business structure to center on OLED panels, raising the proportion of OLED sales to more than half of the total by 2020. The company’s LCD sales are estimated to account for some 70 percent of total revenue this year.

LG Display is the only supplier of OLED panels for TVs in the world, while there are 15 global TV brands that produce OLED TV sets. They include LG Electronics in Korea, Sony, Toshiba and Panasonic in Japan and Skyworth and TCL in China.

By Hwang Soon-min and Minu Kim

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]