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LGD’s TV Revenue from OLED to Increase from 37% Share in 2019 to 57% Share in 2020
LG Display’s revenue from TV panel sales is expected to grow by only 1.9% Y/Y, but the shift towards OLED will rise to a 56.8% share up 56% Y/Y as the company earns more revenue from OLED TV panels than LCD panels, the first time since it started exiting from money-losing LCD business. LG Display projected the share of its OLED TV panels would exceed 50%, the first time since it started supplying OLED TV panels in 2013. The share will increase to 70 percent next year as LGD grows its OLED volume from ~4.9m in 2020 to 8.2m in 2021. Yuanta Securities Korea also expected the company to deliver 3.5 trillion won ($3.01 billion) in revenue from OLED TV panels this year, higher than 3.4 trillion won in estimated revenue from LCD TV panels. It forecast the company’s OLED TV panel sales next year would reach 5.2 trillion won and LCD TV panel sales 2.8 trillion won.
Table 1: LG TV Revenue by Technology 2019-2021
LG Display’s revenue from TV panel sales is expected to grow by only 1.9% Y/Y, but the shift towards OLED will rise to a 56.8% share up 56% Y/Y as the company earns more revenue from OLED TV panels than LCD panels, the first time since it started exiting from money-losing LCD business. LG Display projected the share of its OLED TV panels would exceed 50%, the first time since it started supplying OLED TV panels in 2013. The share will increase to 70 percent next year as LGD grows its OLED volume from ~4.9m in 2020 to 8.2m in 2021. Yuanta Securities Korea also expected the company to deliver 3.5 trillion won ($3.01 billion) in revenue from OLED TV panels this year, higher than 3.4 trillion won in estimated revenue from LCD TV panels. It forecast the company’s OLED TV panel sales next year would reach 5.2 trillion won and LCD TV panel sales 2.8 trillion won.
Table 1: LG TV Revenue by Technology 2019-2021
Source: Shinhan Securities
LG Display (LGD) reportedly has decided to push back the date of closing its 7.5G LCD fab to probably the end of 2021 instead of September 2020 as planned, due to a recent upsurge in demand for LCD TV panels. LGD announced previously that it would also stop producing LCD TV panels at its 8.5G line and shift its capacity to making IT applications (notebooks and monitors). Prices of LCD TV panels have rebounded sharply in recent months, rising as much as 30% sequentially in third-quarter 2020 with prospects to go up another 10% in the fourth quarter, said the sources. The plant closure postponement should not affect supply and demand of TV panels in 2021, as LGD is shifting production focus of the 7.5 fab to 43- and 86-inch sizes instead of 75-inch ones previously.
Figure 1: LCD TV Panel Price Trends (US$)
Source: Shinhan Securities
LGD's LCD TV panel shipments are likely to reach 23-24 million units in 2020, with the volumes likely to fall slightly in 2021 as a result of adjustments to the product lineup at the 7.5G line. The current tight supply of TV panels is likely to continue into 2021 as Samsung Display is still on track to withdraw from the LCD panel market by year-end 2020 and some panel makers, notably those in China, have slowed down the pace for capacity ramps in the wake of the pandemic, commented the sources.
LGD also expects to increase flexible mobile OLED panel shipments to Apple from 5m in 2020 to 20m in 2021
LGD also expects to increase flexible mobile OLED panel shipments to Apple from 5m in 2020 to 20m in 2021