LG Display, currently going all out for TV market creation based on Organic Light Emitting
Diode(OLED) technology, made drastic adjustments for this year’s production plans.
This was because of the increase in the total stock due to sluggish sales of Full HD(FHD) OLED TV, and the low yield of the Ultra HD(UHD) OLED TV panel. It seems they have modified their production plans conservatively as even the factory operation stop incident, which occurred in the beginning of the year due to nitrogen gas leak, overlapped.
According to multiple industry officials on the 20th, LG Display has recently cut down productions for the OLED TV panel partially. (LGD had originally planned from last year to produce 742000 OLED TV panels this year, but this fell to 650000 and then to 500000 at the beginning of the year, which has recently fallen again to below 500000.)
Industry officials said, “The production goal for the OLED TV panel was originally set at over 700000, but was constantly cut down. Producing 500000 will be good enough defense for this year.”
There are two reasons why LG Display decided to make production adjustments. They are low market demand for the FHD OLED panel that had raised yields to a high level, and the increase in the charge of stock due to this. It has become especially hard for them to put up a differentiated value as they have lost in the price competition with the UHD LCD TV adopting the Quantum Dot(QD) film.
In the premium TV market, QD(Quantum Dot)TV and UHD OLED TV form competitive composition. UHD OLED TV has a high price but overwhelms QDTV with better performance. However, the higher the resolution, the harder it becomes for the OLED panel to secure a stable yield.
Nowadays, LG Display barely produce FHD OLED panels, but only focus on producing UHD OLED TV panels.
An official who is familiar with the inside affairs of LG Display said, “FHD OLED yields are as high as that of the LCD panel, but it is troubling how UHD OLED yields fall short of our expectations. The overall production plan has fallen as the production proportion of UHD OLED, which has a relatively low yield, was expanded. If LG Display secures the UHD OLED TV panel yield at a 70~80% rate this year, we are planning on increasing investment nearly double the amount of current output next year.”
LG Display has been building the 8th generation(2200×2500㎜) WRGB M2 line since 2012 in addition to the existing M1, for the expansion of the OLED business. The M2 line’s panel production goal is 26000 sheets per month, and started operating a 8000 sheet-scale portion in advance from last year.
LG Display had announced their plans to produce diverse large area UHD OLED panels including 55·65·77 inch-sized ones at the M2 line, but decided to concentrate on the 55 inch UHD OLED TV panel production because 65·77 inch-sized TVs are too expensive.
An industry official said, “If LG Display’s UHD OLED TV becomes firmly rooted in the market this year, other competing companies must also react to OLED TV or quickly start 8K UHD LCD panel production. We are at an important crossroads this year, where the mid-and-long-term winner will be determined.”
Staff Reporter Syng,Hyunhee | sunghh@etnews.com