Display Earnings Improve; Strong Demand for OLED To Persist
The Display Panel Business posted KRW 8.86 trillion in consolidated revenue and KRW 1.49 trillion in operating profit for the third quarter. Overall display earnings improved compared to the previous quarter primarily due to the strong sales of small to mid-sized OLED panels despite weak performance in the large display business.

Mobile display earnings rose amid favorable seasonal effects, driven by demand for newly launched products from major smartphone customers. Especially, sales expansion for high-end products including foldable phones contributed to the highest-ever third quarter profit. However, the large display business continued to post losses mainly due to price declines in LCD panels.

Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, for mobile displays, Samsung forecasts strong demand for new smartphones to continue and sales for laptops and gaming devices to grow during the holiday season. Thus, it expects the earnings to remain solid for the fourth quarter. In the large display business, as the Company is all set to begin mass production of QD displays, it will focus on the successful introduction of its first QD products to the market.

In 2022, a favorable environment for the OLED business is expected to continue, thanks to the recovery of smartphone market demand and the higher adoption of 5G phones. Moreover, sales of applications such as laptops and tablets are forecast to grow in earnest. Samsung will strive to turn such momentum into a new growth engine for the Company. Also, amid concerns over supply of some components such as DDIs, the Company will closely monitor its supply chain and take preemptive actions to potential risks to ensure uninterrupted product delivery.

For the large displays, Samsung will complete the business reorganization from LCD to QD displays as planned and focus on securing leadership in the premium TV segment with QD displays.