LG Display posted an operating loss in the second quarter, but maintained a profit trend for the first half.

LG Display posted second-quarter revenue of 5.61 trillion won and an operating loss of 107.7 billion won on a consolidated basis. It swung to a deficit from the previous quarter, but first-half cumulative operating profit was 39.0 billion won, turning to a profit from the year-earlier first half.

The company said the direct causes of the second-quarter operating loss were twofold. One was the impact of the seasonal off-peak period, when finished-product makers typically scale back component inventories ahead of new product launches in the second half, slowing display demand. The other was one-off costs incurred in the process of improving workforce operational efficiency, it said.

On a first-half basis, it improved profit and loss by 121.6 billion won from a year earlier. The company sees this as the result of progress from shifting its business structure toward OLED.

Second-quarter revenue of 5.61 trillion won rose 1 percent from the previous quarter. EBITDA fell 24 percent from the previous quarter to 872.4 billion won.

Kim Seong-hyeon (김성현), LG Display's CFO, said, "Even in the second quarter, excluding one-off factors, the core profitability of the business maintained a profit trend." He said, "In the second half as well, we will solidify a stable profit structure by continuing to push for improved annual performance through advancing cost innovation and strengthening business competitiveness."

A key pillar of its second-half strategy is "AX (AI transformation) cost innovation." It aims to use AX technology to improve efficiency across the entire process of development, manufacturing and production, rather than simply cutting costs.

In the small and medium-sized business, it plans to focus on differentiated technologies that provide competitive advantages and to optimise its production system to respond flexibly to market changes. In the large-sized business, it will seek to strengthen leadership in the premium market with a product lineup that combines differentiated technology and cost competitiveness.

The company said it plans to expand its lineup of high value-added products, including gaming OLED monitors, and increase shipments, targeting the monitor market where the shift from LCD to OLED is accelerating.