[Click eStock] "LG Display, Q1 Loss Forecast"

Heungkuk Life Insurance forecasted that LG Display would record a loss in the first quarter of this year.

On the 21st, Heungkuk Life Insurance released a report on LG Display, stating, "We expect sales of 4.8 trillion KRW and an operating loss of 783.8 billion KRW in the first quarter of this year."

Panel manufacturers are normalizing the excess production from 2021 through adjustments in operating rates. Major panel manufacturers have seen inventory decrease since the third quarter of last year.

LG Display proactively reduced inventory by 1.6 trillion KRW in the fourth quarter of last year compared to the third quarter.

Lee Euijin, a researcher at Heungkuk Securities, said, "The inventory reduction phase of set companies is also ongoing, and panel prices are expected to slightly rebound during the second quarter."

He also projected sales of 23.8 trillion KRW and an operating loss of 1.3 trillion KRW for 2023.

The researcher added, "In the second half of the year, a clear improvement in performance is expected compared to the first half due to the recovery of operating rates from large OLED inventory adjustments and increased shipments to North American set companies in the POLED sector."