South Korean display manufacturer LGDisplay reported this Wednesday losses in the second quarter, compared to the profits of the same period of the previous year, since the inflation and the interest rate hikes they reduced demand for panels used in televisions and appliances.
The apple supplier It said it only expected a limited recovery in panel shipments in the third quarter, due to lower consumer confidence.
“Consumption is expected to slow across the board, except for essential goods,” the company said at an earnings call. “Gadget manufacturers and retailers in general are becoming more conservative in their business operations.”
The company’s operating loss was 488 billion won (about 371 million US dollars) in the April-June quarter, compared with a profit of 701 billion won in the same period a year earlier. Business had been buoyed for several quarters by strong demand related to home entertainment during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The quarterly operating loss, the first since the second quarter of 2020, was steeper than the 343 billion won average forecast of the 12 analysts surveyed by Refinitiv SmartEstimate.
Revenue fell 20% for the year to 5.6 trillion won, LG Display said in a regulatory filing.
Shares of LG Display closed 0.3% higher after the results announcement, compared with a 0.1% gain for the broader market.