LG Show posts bigger-than-expected Q3 loss on sluggish gadget gross sales By Reuters

By Joyce Lee and Heekyong Yang

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean flat-screen maker LG Show (NYSE:) Co Ltd posted its second consecutive quarterly loss and minimize its funding funds, as hovering inflation and a dismal financial outlook dealt an additional blow to demand for TVs and smartphones.

Tech gadget makers made massive cuts to stock and shopper sentiment in Europe – a key gross sales area for natural light-emitting diode (OLED) TVs – worsened quickly because of the Russia-Ukraine struggle and vitality crunch, the corporate mentioned.

The Apple Inc (NASDAQ:) provider posted an working lack of 759 billion gained ($532.31 million) for the September quarter, in comparison with a revenue of 529 billion gained a yr earlier.

It missed a median forecast of a 474 billion gained loss from 12 analysts polled by Refinitiv SmartEstimate.

Income fell 6% to six.8 trillion gained, LG Show mentioned in a regulatory submitting. It plans to chop its 2022 funding funds by greater than 1 trillion gained and flexibly function its OLED manufacturing strains to match demand.

Sluggish demand for liquid crystal show (LCD) and OLED panels, which dragged down shipments through the third quarter, is predicted to proceed till the second half of subsequent yr for some panels, the corporate mentioned.

Costs of 55-inch LCD panels for TV units fell 13% within the third quarter from the previous quarter, in line with knowledge from TrendForce’s WitsView.

LCD panel costs stabilised in October due to manufacturing adjustment by panel makers, however LG Show is predicted to increase losses into the present quarter due to weak demand, mentioned Jeff Kim, an analyst at KB Securities.

The corporate mentioned in July it will halt LCD TV manufacturing in South Korea by subsequent yr.

“Beneath the conservative stance that poor administration efficiency could also be extended…we are going to speed up our exit from the LCD TV sector,” mentioned LG Show Chief Monetary Officer Sunghyun Kim instructed analysts on Wednesday, with out offering an up to date timeline.

In third quarter, the corporate derived round 9% of its income from LCD TVs, a spokesperson mentioned.

LG Show has been within the crimson because the second quarter, when it logged its first quarterly working loss in two years as a pandemic-driven demand growth for residence leisure units ended abruptly amid rising inflation and rates of interest.

Shares in LG Show closed down 1.1% after the earnings consequence whereas the broader market rose 0.7%.

($1 = 1,425.8500 gained)