Rebound in large OLED TV demand bodes well for LG Display, Samsung

In the flat panel market, South Korea’s two display makers – LG Display Co. and Samsung Display Co. – have been bleeding for years after losing ground to Chinese rivals armed with state subsidies and dirt-cheap TVs.

LG and Samsung pulled out of the liquid crystal display (LCD) business and instead focused on advanced, high-end and more profitable organic light-emitting diode (OLED) products.

While small OLED products sold well on the back of rising demand for smartphones, demand for large screens, mostly for TVs, was relatively slow to pick up given the long TV replacement cycle, leaving Korean display makers in the red for years.

Things have changed, however.

Since early this year, demand for large OLED screens has been rising.  And its pace is accelerating with special events such as the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris prompting TV makers, including Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc., to increase their production volumes.

According to market research firm Omdia on Tuesday, OLED TV panel shipments are forecast to reach 7.05 million units this year, up 33% from 5.29 million in 2023.

Sales growth is expected to gain momentum to hit nearly 10 million units by 2030 as consumers are increasingly looking for larger and clearer screens.

The proportion of OLED panels in the TV market for premium models with price tags of $1,500 and higher is forecast to account for 52.8% of all TV screens in 2025 – rising above the 50% mark for the first time.

Whereas, the proportion of LCD TVs will break below 50% this year, down from a high of 85.3% in 2020.

LG FORECAST TO SWING TO PROFIT

Rising demand for OLED TVs is a boon for LG Display, the world’s top OLED maker.

Analysts expect LG to post an operating loss of 350 billion won ($253 million) this year, sharply improving from a loss of 2.5 trillion won in 2023.

Next year, the company is expected to swing to a profit of 450 billion won – the first time it will have turned black since 2021.

The market expects LG Display to ship 5.75 million OLED panels for TVs this year, up 35% from 4.23 million in 2023.

OLED TV replacement demand is rising in advanced countries, including the US, and is especially strong in Europe, partly due to the Paris Olympics which opens on Wednesday.

Samsung Electronics, the world’s top TV maker, has already launched 42-inch and 48-inch OLED TVs in the US and Canada. Last month, the company also unveiled the latest 48-inch models in major European countries, including Germany and France.

LG Electronics, the top OLED TV segment player, plans to unveil later this month the 2024 wireless OLED TV that removes all connection cables except the power cable, in select markets, including Europe.

OLED: PANEL OF CHOICE

OLED screens are rapidly replacing traditional LCD panels in large TVs and gaming monitors as OLED’s response time is much faster than LCD's while providing clear images with a three-dimensional effect.

Back in the mid-2000s, Korea led the global LCD TV panel market with LG Display and its crosstown rival Samsung Display accounting for nearly half of global shipments of such displays.

And then, Chinese players, led by BOE and CSOT, emerged as formidable competitors, armed with generous state subsidies, pushing LG and Samsung out of business.

OLEDs have become the mainstream in the TV and smartphone segments.

OLED is highlighted by self-illuminating pixels that do not require a separate light source, allowing manufacturers to produce lightweight, thin and flexible display products, appealing to high-end consumers.

Write to Eui-Myung Park at uimyung@hankyung.com

In-Soo Nam edited this article.