LG Display Expected to Rack Up 10 Tri. Won in OLED Display Sales in 2021

As LG Display is speeding up its transition from liquid crystal displays (LCDs) to organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays, its OLED display sales are expected to reach 10 trillion won in 2021.

The proportion of OLED panels in LG Display's TV panel sales rose from 33 percent in 2019 to 53 percent in 2020, surpassing that of LCD panel sales for the first time, said global market research firm Omdia on Jan. 7. Sales of OLED displays surpassed those of LCDs in the TV sector in seven years since LG Display succeeded in mass-producing 55-inch OLED TV panels for the first time in the world in 2013.

Shipments of OLED TV panels stood at 200,000 units in 2013 but reached 4.5 million units in 2020. Accumulated shipments of OLED TV panels topped 10 million units in February 2020. Industry insiders are predicting that shipments of OLED TV panels will double from 2020 to hit 7 million to 8 million units in 2021.

Also of note is P-OLED displays’ rise in the smartphone sector. The proportion of OLED display sales for smartphones in LG Display's sales climbed to 63 percent in 2020 from 30 percent in 2019, according to Omdia.

OLED displays for smartphones outweighed LCDs for smartphones in sales for the first time in 2020 as the supply of P-OLEDs to major customers such as Apple more than quadrupled, analysts say. Yuanta Securities forecast that LG Display's OLED display sales will hit 9.6 trillion won in 2021 and 11 trillion won in 2022, up from 7.2 trillion won in 2020.

LG Display's business performance is continuing to improve as the OLED business is growing. Following a successful turnaround in the third quarter of 2020, the Korean display giant is widely expected to enjoy a surplus in 2021.

LG Display is accelerating its structural innovation by focusing on achieving high added value in the LCD segment. It is planning to gradually shut down production of less competitive LCDs for TVs in Korea and reorganize its LCD business with a focus on high-value-added LCDs for IT devices and vehicles.