The OLED industry is booming. Sales of televisions with this technology have not stopped increasing, managing to break all records. But even so, Samsung will still not invest in organic light-emitting diode technology. And the big loser of this decision is LG.
Or this is what emerges from the latest UBI Research report, where Yi Choong-hoon, CEO of the display panel research firm, has indicated that the profitability of this technology is up in the air due to the path that Samsung is taking. Display and LG Display.
And it is that, Although the growth of OLED TV sales is a fact, Samsung Electronics does not want to take any risks.
The CEO of Samsung does not want to invest
The problem is that Samsung Electronics has never liked OLED technology. They have always considered it to be inferior to their solutions. And this is one of the reasons why the company decided to stop negotiations with LG for the sale of its WOLED panels.
Secondly, Samsung Display has been requesting funds for some time to invest in improving QD-OLED technology. We are talking about the panel of organic light-emitting diodes with quantum dots that mount televisions such as the Samsung S95B and the Sony A95K. Two Smart TVs that will dominate the market thanks to their incredible image quality. But it is not enough for Samsung Electronics.
The original idea was to invest 13 trillion won, about 9 billion eurosto improve the manufacturing processes of QD-OLED panels, but the problem is that Samsung does not want unnecessary expenses.
Under the leadership of Vice President Lee Jae-yong, unlike his predecessor Lee Kun-hee, Samsung will refrain from investing in new businesses if it takes more than three years to turn a profit.Yi said. Recently, Samsung’s QLED panels became profitable five years after the start.” So the situation does not look too good.
LG, the big loser
Undoubtedly, the great loser of the decision not to bet on OLED technology is LG Display. The company will return to red numbers this year, when in 2021 it made a profit for the first time. The problem is that there has been a Big slowdown in OLED panel shipmentswhich will deepen in the second quarter of 2022.
Also, LG Display has decided to follow in the footsteps of Samsung and it will also reduce the production of LCD panels to focus on OLED technology. The problem is that transforming its liquid crystal display line in Paju, South Korea, into an OLED panel manufacturing line is going to cause liquidity problems.
LG was counting on Samsung to buy OLED panelsbut the agreement has not finally come to fruition, so LG Display is going to have serious problems related to investment in this plant.
Samsung Display will continue to bet mainly on its QLED technology, in addition to QD-OLED, while LG Display will continue with its WOLED line. Note that the Korean manufacturer distributes its organic light-emitting diode panels to 20 different brands, so it still has a few customers to sell OLED screens to. But the great white whale that was Samsung has eluded them.
BOE and TCL knock on the door
DDSC Ownership
Finally, we have two actors who can be a problem for LG. On the one hand, there is BOE who has confirmed that OLED panels from 55 to 97 inches will come. An announcement made during Display Week 2022 that meant a direct hit to LG Display’s waterline, since it is currently the only manufacturer that distributes this type of panel.
And on the other hand we have TCL and its inkjet printing technology with which to offer cheaper OLED panels. In the meantime, LG Display’s operating profit will drop by 64 percent in 2022 compared to the previous year, so the company’s situation is not exactly the best.
