LG Display - Q1 2024
April 25, 2024
Transcript
Speaker 9
Good morning. This is Brian Heo in charge of LG Display's IR. On behalf of the company, let me thank all the participants at this conference call. Today, I'm joined by CFO Sung-hyun Kim, Seung-min Lim, Senior Vice President of Corporate Planning, Ki-young Lee in charge of Business Intelligence, Tae-jong Lee in charge of Large Display Marketing, Won-jae Lee in charge of Medium Display Marketing, and Yong-won Kim in charge of Small Display Marketing.
Brian Heo (Head of Investor Relations)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
The conference call will be conducted in both Korean and English. Please refer to the provisional earnings release today or the IR event section in the company's website for more details on the financial results.
Brian Heo (Head of Investor Relations)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
Before we begin the presentation, please take a moment to read the disclaimer.
Yong-won Kim (Head of Small Display Marketing)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
Please note that today's results are based on consolidated IFRS standards prepared for your benefit and have not yet been audited by an outside auditor.
Yong-won Kim (Head of Small Display Marketing)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
I will start with 2024 Q1 business results. Revenue was KRW 5.253 trillion. It was down 29% quarter-on-quarter due to seasonality, but up 19% year-on-year, driven by shipment growth of OLED and LCD TV panels and monitor panels, and the start of mass production of IT OLED panels.
Yong-won Kim (Head of Small Display Marketing)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
In terms of profitability, operating loss was narrowed YoY to KRW 469 billion. Although there was impact of seasonality, the company continued with work on upgrading to OLED-centered business structure and improving the cost structure. Production increased for medium and large products like OLED panels for TV, and mass production began for IT OLED.
Yong-won Kim (Head of Small Display Marketing)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
Next is area shipment and ASP per square meter. Area shipment in Q1 was 5.3 million sq m, down 5% QoQ. There was impact from seasonality, but shipment of products like TV and monitor outpaced the plan, slightly overperforming on the guidance. ASP per square meter fell 27% to $782, largely in line with the guidance from the previous quarter. The mix of mobile panel shrank, and there was relative impact from increased shipment of medium and large products, but mass production began for IT OLED and product mix improved.
Yong-won Kim (Head of Small Display Marketing)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
Next is product revenue mix. The revenue mix of mobile and others was 28% of the total revenue, down 16 percentage points QoQ due to seasonality. This pushed up the revenue mix of other products. EV panels revenue mix was 22%, up 4 percentage points from the previous quarter. IT was 40%, up 9 percentage points QoQ, on general growth in monitor shipment and the start of IT OLED mass production. Auto was 10%, up 3 percentage points. Revenue mix of OLED products, excluding the seasonality, was 47%, up 2 percentage points year-on-year.
Yong-won Kim (Head of Small Display Marketing)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
Next is on the financial position and key metrics. Cash and cash equivalents stood at KRW 3.225 trillion. Since the paid-in capital increase in Q1, debt-to-equity ratio was 279%, improved by 29 percentage points from the previous quarter. Net debt-to-equity ratio was 145%, improved by 7 percentage points.
Yong-won Kim (Head of Small Display Marketing)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
Next is Q2 guidance. Area shipment is expected to grow by mid-20% level QoQ, from increased shipment of medium and large products like TV and IT, and full-fledged mass production of IT OLED. ASP per square meter is expected to decline slightly by a low single-digit percentage due to the change in the product mix.
Yong-won Kim (Head of Small Display Marketing)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
Next, CFO Sung-hyun Kim will walk us through the key highlights.
Sung-hyun Kim (CFO)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
Good morning and afternoon. This is the CFO Sung-hyun Kim. Thank you for joining our conference call.
Sung-hyun Kim (CFO)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
Uncertainties in the external environment continue, affecting macroeconomic factors like consumption, which is prolonging the soft demand across panel products. For the short term, business performance will remain volatile due to factors like seasonality, but the company is trying to build a secure revenue structure for the mid to long term. We are trying to strengthen business competitiveness, lay the foundation for future businesses, and establish a stable revenue structure by focusing company-wide attention on activities to upgrade the business structure, improve the cost structure, and operational efficiency.
Sung-hyun Kim (CFO)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
Now allow me to explain the company's plan and strategy per business area.
Sung-hyun Kim (CFO)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
In large OLED, we will strengthen our customer portfolio and solidify our position in the premium TV market with a focus on ultra-high definition, ultra-large products applied with META Technology 2.0 with higher luminance. We also aim to improve profitability based on cost innovations and volume expansion resulting from improvement in yield, productivity, and material costs.
Sung-hyun Kim (CFO)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
In the IT OLED segment under medium IT, we are currently mass producing the products that utilize Tandem OLED, characterized by superior durability and performance like long life, high luminance, and low power. We plan to secure business results by ramping up production in earnest in Q2 and running the business on track as planned. This will not only help consolidate our position in the market based on stable mass production and technology leadership, but also build the fundamentals for our business upgrade.
Sung-hyun Kim (CFO)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
In the small mobile business, we will keep driving our market share in high-end smartphones by actively utilizing the expanded capacity of 45,000 and growing the shipment and mix of high-value-add products.
Sung-hyun Kim (CFO)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
Next is auto business. We have technological competitiveness and differentiated product portfolio in such products as P-OLED and ATO based on Tandem OLED technology and high-end LTPS LCD. Demand may be volatile in the short term, but we will keep working to win new orders and drive business performance based on our differentiated product and technology portfolio, reliable production capability, and close customer relations. Particularly in auto OLED, we are accelerating business expansion with the goal of further building up our position as the world's number one auto display player by winning new customers, new orders, and revenue.
Sung-hyun Kim (CFO)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
Last is on our investment activities. As has been reiterated, our CapEx is focused on essential investment and order-based business that is less susceptible to external environment and likely to yield quick returns. Investment this year is planned at KRW 2 trillion level, a further reduction from last year's KRW 3.6 trillion.
Sung-hyun Kim (CFO)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
Although the market and external environment remain uncertain and volatile, we will try to sustain the improvement trend in our quarterly business performance and earnings through the aforementioned measures as we aim to reach a turnaround in the second half led by a higher mix of OLED-centered high-end products. We are also working to strengthen our financial soundness and improve our fundamentals by utilizing non-strategic assets such as the sale of idle real estate disclosed today. Thank you very much for your attention.
Yong-won Kim (Head of Small Display Marketing)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
That brings us to the end of earnings presentation for Q1 2024. We will now take your questions. Operator, please commence with the Q&A session.
Operator (participant)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
Now Q&A session will begin. Please press star one, that is star and one if you have any questions. Questions will be taken according to the order you have pressed the number star one. For cancellation, please press star two, that is star and two on your phone. In order to allow as many Q&A chances as possible within the restricted time, we would appreciate only two questions per each participant.
Operator (participant)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
The first question will be provided by Sunwoo Kim from Meritz Securities. Please go ahead with your question.
Sunwoo Kim (Senior Analyst)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
Thank you very much for the presentation. Now I have questions about the financial structure as well as cash liquidity, probably the two most important questions in today's environment. The company's financial statement shows that the net borrowing at the end of Q1 was KRW 13.8 trillion, and we see that the net borrowing has been remaining at the KRW 13 trillion level since from a year ago, which appears to be a bit on the higher side considering the current circumstances. There has been the paid-in capital increase, and also there have been reports of the intention to sell off the Guangzhou LCD to sell off the Guangzhou LCD TV Fab. I wonder whether there are any target financial ratios for the company for the end of this year as well as next year. Also, aside from the sell-off of the Guangzhou LCD TV Fab, are there any large-scale cash-in events that have been planned for the sake of stabilizing the financial ratios?
Sung-hyun Kim (CFO)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
This is the CFO responding to your questions. I see that the question is stemming from very good understanding of the specifics of the company. And yes, as has been rightly mentioned, the net borrowing has been remaining almost flat for the past few quarters. And also, as the questioner has pointed out, it is a bit burdensome given the current circumstances.
Sung-hyun Kim (CFO)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
Now for the past two years, the company's profitability has not been so robust. But as you would also be fully aware, our financial activities have been consistently ongoing despite the other circumstances.
Sung-hyun Kim (CFO)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
Now you also mentioned the sell-off of the Guangzhou LCD TV Fab. Basically what the company can do now is to keep strengthening our activities to maximize our business efficiency and effectiveness. What we can do is improve the soundness of our assets. For the assets that are deemed not to be strategic, then we can perhaps try to turn them into other types of assets.
Sung-hyun Kim (CFO)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
I did mention that we have been consistently carrying on financial activities. But then I would say that at the fundamental level, the best financial response would be for our businesses to produce profits.
Sung-hyun Kim (CFO)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
Regarding that, our continuous efforts have been reiterated several times, so I do not believe that they merit my repeating at this point. We will continue with our efforts to improve our fundamental business performance, and we are now beginning to see some signs of getting good results out of it. Based on the results as well as the continued business performance, we will also be coming up with our financial plan accordingly.
Yong-won Kim (Head of Small Display Marketing)
[Foreign language]
Operator (participant)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
The following question will be presented by Dong-won Kim from KB Securities. Please go ahead with your question.
Dong-won Kim (Senior Managing Director)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
Thank you for taking my question. It is going to be on the Guangzhou LCD Fab. Now the market is quite keen on the sell-off of the Guangzhou LCD Fab for such purposes as improving the financial ratios and also the potential use of the investment funds. But also at the same time, some TV set makers recently requested volume increase from LG Display to hedge their reliance on Chinese makers. Based on the recent improvement in the LCD TV market, are there any changes to the company's plan on the sell-off of the Guangzhou LCD TV Fab? If not, meaning that if the current plan is to continue, then I would just like to ask for a broad update on the Guangzhou LCD Fab sell-off. For example, the timeline of the expected sell-off as well as the plan for utilizing the proceeds.
Sung-hyun Kim (CFO)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
This is the CFO again responding to your question. Now a few years back, the company announced our decision to suspend our large LCD business, and since then we have been executing this plan through a number of steps.
Sung-hyun Kim (CFO)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
This means that what we are intending to do is not about improving the financial ratios or making more proceeds available to be used, but this is part of our execution of what was determined strategically.
Sung-hyun Kim (CFO)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
Now in terms of the substance of that decision, we have shared with the market about the path that we intend to take. But in terms of the specific approach, I must admit that perhaps we have not been fully clear yet.
Sung-hyun Kim (CFO)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
Neither will I be clear this time. But what I can tell you is that we are working very hard, and the outcome might be better than what we expect. But in terms of the timing, we would have to wait and see. But again, in terms of the specific approach, please understand that we cannot be specific at this time.
Yong-won Kim (Head of Small Display Marketing)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
Thank you. We will take the next question.
Operator (participant)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
The following question will be presented by Un-ho Kim from IBK Investment & Securities. Please go ahead with your question.
Un-ho Kim (Analyst)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
Thank you for taking my questions. I will be asking about the sales environment. Since a few years back, we see that the large OLED has been increasing, and also the large OLED is likely to expand year-over-year, especially thanks to the new customer and also the increased volume for the new customer. The LCD IT products and the IT OLED are likely to be the main drivers of performance improvement this year along with the large OLED. What is the company's projection for the demand for the mid-sized LCD products? If possible, what is the company's projection for the panel prices as well? The second question is, as was explained during the presentation, the company started the mass production of IT OLED, and it seems as if the volume is set to increase quite rapidly in the second quarter of this year. With the IT OLED, what is the company's goal in terms of the annual production? The company has been putting a lot of stock on the order-based business. The company has great vision for the order-based business. What is also the company's expectation of the performance coming out of this?
Won-jae Lee (Head of Medium Display Marketing)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
This is Won-jae Lee in charge of Medium Display Marketing responding to the first part of your question. Now for the mid-sized LCD market, there has been negative growth recently because of some macroeconomic environment and impact. But more recently what we are seeing is signals of growth in the sales of monitors, especially in the B2C market, in developed markets, and in the emerging markets as well.
Won-jae Lee (Head of Medium Display Marketing)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
Along with the rise in the TV panel prices, the prices of IT panels have also been increasing. We expect the demand to start picking up in 2025 on the back of the replacement cycle coming up and also with improved IT consumption environment among the businesses. As a result, we believe that starting from the second half of the year, the market environment is going to start improving.
Yong-won Kim (Head of Small Display Marketing)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
This is Yong-won Kim in charge of Small Display Marketing responding to your question about the OLED panels for IT. Before I give my answer to this particular question, please understand that regarding the specifics about our mass production plan, we cannot disclose them because they involve client situations. Now for the IT OLED, based on our technology leadership, we have begun the mass production as was mentioned in the first quarter based on our plan, and we are currently moving on without a hitch. In terms of the upgrade to our business structure, it is something that can further strengthen the company's business fundamentals, and we are looking forward to seeing the results out of these efforts.
Yong-won Kim (Head of Small Display Marketing)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
Thank you. We will now take one more question.
Operator (participant)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
The following question will be presented by So-won Kim from Kiwoom Securities. Please go ahead with your question.
So-won Kim (Analyst)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
Thank you for taking my question, which is on P-OLED. The North American customer has been seeing sluggish sales in the Chinese region, and as a result, I understand that there have been some concerns about the supply chain overall, especially regarding the annual demand. Also given the fact that the smartphone market has become saturated and the competition continues to intensify, are there any changes to the company's target annual shipment for 2024? Also in the past two years, there have been some issues, especially in the early stage of supply. What is the company's competitive strategy to further strengthen your position as the vendor among the customers and to secure reliable profitability?
Yong-won Kim (Head of Small Display Marketing)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
This is Yong-won Kim in charge of Small Display Marketing responding to this question. Once again, please ask for understanding that I cannot disclose details or specifics with regards to the customer. Based on the expanded production capacity and strengthened capability, we believe that the panel shipment is going to grow year-on-year, which is also going to translate into improvement in revenue and profit. We have a system in place to collaborate very quickly with customers in technology production and operations. Also on the yield and productivity side, we have also built up more advanced experience, much more so than before. So we believe that this places us in a very good position to supply our products on a timely manner and continue to broaden our performance.
Yong-won Kim (Head of Small Display Marketing)
[Foreign language]
Speaker 9
Thank you. We will now close LG Display. Please do contact us at the IR team for any additional questions. Thank you.