LG Display, Samsung fail to agree OLED deals
July 29, 2022
By Chris Forrester
Comments from LG Display (LGD) suggest that Samsung Electronics and LGD have failed to agree terms over Samsung’s purchasing and usage of LGD OLED panels.
“A potential customer was interested in using our OLED TV panels and some progress were made in our talks, but at the moment, no discussion is underway regarding the matter,” an LGD official said in a Q2 earnings statement call with analysts.
Recent meetings between officials of the two companies covered OLED panel supply. During 2022, expectations for a deal between the two companies were raised as Samsung Electronics vice chairman Han Jong-hee and LGD president Jung Ho-young both said, “All possibilities are open”.
Local reports had suggested that LGD would start supplying its W-OLED TV panels to Samsung from Q2 during 2022. Samsung was expected to launch W-OLED TVs in the second half of 2022. However, with negotiations stalled, analysts say that it would be difficult for Samsung to launch W-OLED TVs this year.
At the core of the argument are prices, with Samsung Electronics wanting LGD to supply its OLED panels at prices lower than those applied to the panels supplied to LG Electronics, but LGD is said to have rejected such demands.
LGD also announced its financial results for Q2 2022, with a net loss of around $290 million (down from a profit of around $320 million a year ago) as the company’s sales dropped 14.6 per cent.
LGD says that the loss was due to weak demand for TV and IT displays, coupled with supply chain issues and the lockdowns in China. LGD says it plans to continue and reduce its LCD TV business, and to stop LCD production in Korea in 2023, earlier than expected. The company will focus instead on OLED TV panels and the automotive market, and will aim to open up new markets for transparent and gaming OLEDs.