LG Display reviewing building another OLED line for Apple

LG Display said on Wednesday that it was reviewing the construction of an additional OLED production line for IT and mobile applications.

The statement is effectively a confirmation that the company plans to restart spending on the E6-3, which will manufacture OLED panels for Apple.

LG Display CFO Suh Dong-hee said during the company’s conference call for the second quarter that the plan to build an additional plastic OLED line for IT and mobile has been reviewed substantially.

Suh said the company will make an announcement to the market once the plan is finalized.

IT OLED panels refer to those used in iPads and other tablets. Mobile OLED panels refer to panels for smartphones like the iPhone. 

LG Display is expected to add 15,000 Gen 6 (1500x1850mm) substrates per month in its production capacity.

At the conference call for the second quarter of 2020, the company had said it had no plan to add 15,000 substrates per month in capacity for the time being.

At its latest conference call, LG Display also said it expected its large OLED business to turn a profit in the second half of the year.

The business is expected to record mid-single digit in operating margin rate next year, the CFO said.

In the long-term, LG Display is hoping to make the business record double digit profit margins. The company began manufacturing large OLED panels for TVs back in 2013.

LG Display expects to ship 10 million units of large OLED panels next year, and 11 million units in the following year. 

The company had shipped 3.5 million units in the first half. It is aiming to ship early-2 million units in the third quarter.

Meanwhile, the company posted 6.96 trillion won in sales in the second quarter and 701 billion won in operating income. The firm turned a profit compared to a year prior. Sales increased 31.3% year-on-year.

LG Display said it benefited from the increase in price and demand for liquid crystal display panels and strong sales of its large OLED panels.