LG: “OLED TVs will take us to profits”
September 8, 2015
By Chris Forrester
Electronics giant LG says that its television division will move back into profits during Q3 this year, and helped by its fast-growing OLED UHD output.
“LG’s TV business was in trouble for the first six months of the year. However, our TV business will turn profitable from the third quarter of the year thanks to the gradual recovery in consumer demand in key markets,” Kwon Bong-seok, head of LG Electronics’ home entertainment division, said in a news conference at the IFA show in Berlin.
LG said the strength of the US dollar was not helping its business, nor was the slump in sales of TV displays to Russia. But helping growth was LG’s quantum-dot technology.
“The launch of LG’s new TV using quantum dot tech doesn’t necessarily mean LG’s OLED strategy has been changed. OLED TV is premium. LG will push for that. However, the company also needs to respond to growing demand from consumers for affordable models with enhanced viewing technology,” Kwon told reporters.
He fleshed out LG’s expectations for sales of high-end displays, saying that demand for premium TVs should grow to 4 million units by next year with the LG Group’s looking to supply more than 20 per cent of the global market by selling more than 1 million units.
More Japanese and leading Chinese TV manufacturers are joining with LG for OLED TVs. Panasonic, one of the major TV manufacturers in Japan, unveiled its 4K OLED TV during IFA. LG aims to expand its OLED alliance,” said the executive, quoted by the Korean Times.