LG Display's Q2 profit beats estimates as panel prices rise; shares up (updated)

LG DISPLAY

28/07/2021 02:18

* Op. profit 701 bln won vs 599 bln won estimate
    * Revenue jumps 31%
    * Shares rise 4% in morning trade

 (Adds bullets, shares, panel outlook)
    By Heekyong Yang and Joyce Lee
    SEOUL, July 28 (Reuters) - South Korea's LG Display Co Ltd
 034220.KS  on Wednesday posted a better-than-expected
second-quarter profit as pandemic-led demand for TVs and laptops
drove up panel prices, pushing its shares up as much as 4% in
morning trade. 
    The display maker that supplies Apple Inc  AAPL.O  reported
an operating profit of 701 billion won ($607 million) in the
April-June quarter, compared with an operating loss of 517
billion won in the same period last year. 
    The profit, the company's fourth consecutive quarterly
profit, beat an average analyst forecast of 599 billion won from
Refinitiv SmartEstimate, which gives more weight to consistently
accurate analysts. 
    Revenue rose 31% on-year to 7 trillion won, LG Display said
in a regulatory filing.
    Prices of LG Display's mainstay 55-inch liquid crystal
display (LCD) panels for TV sets more than doubled in the
April-June quarter from the same period a year earlier,
according to market data from TrendForce's WitsView. 
    Still, panel prices are slated to fall in the latter half of
the year, as Chinese panel makers ramp up production on the back
of a slight easing in the shortage of semiconductor parts,
especially display driver integrated circuits (DDI), analysts
said.
    As well, vaccinated people around the world are venturing
outdoors and watching less TV, prompting TV makers to take a
conservative view on demand and lower panel procurement levels,
analysts said.
    Streaming giant Netflix Inc  NFLX.O  reported earlier this
month that it was losing subscribers as governments lifted
pandemic restrictions that had kept people at home last year.
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    Apple on Tuesday said a global chip shortage that has bit
into its ability to sell Macs and iPads will start to affect
iPhone production and forecast slowing revenue growth.
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    LG Display's stock has risen more than a fifth so far this
year, versus a 12.5% rise in the broader market  .KS11 .
    
    ($1 = 1,154.2800 won)

 (Reporting by Heekyong Yang and Joyce Lee; Editing by Richard
Pullin)
 ((Heekyong.Yang@thomsonreuters.com;))