LAS VEGAS: The head of money-losing flat-screen maker LG Display Co Ltd said he expects prices for LCD screens to rebound from late in the first quarter, bolstering results this year, as TV manufacturers begin restocking ahead of new product releases.
Chief Executive Han Sang-beom also denied market speculation that LG Display may have to sell new shares to fund money-losing operations.
LG Display shares extended gains on Tuesday, rising nearly 5 percent after media reports of the news conference.
"Market conditions have improved from what we had expected in October, and we are producing at full capacity as demand from TV manufacturers is improving," Han told reporters in his first news conference after a management change announced last month.
"LCD panel prices will rebound from late in the first quarter or early second quarter and the global TV market will return to positive growth this year as TV makers are preparing for the London summer Olympics."
LG Display, which makes panels for Apple Inc's iPhone and iPad as well as Amazon.com Inc's Kindle Fire tablet, plans to set aside about 4 trillion won ($3.4 billion) for capital spending this year, little changed from last year, he said.
The company, which vies with home rival Samsung Electronics Co Ltd for the top position in LCD flat screens globally, posted its biggest-ever quarterly loss in the third quarter, which also marked its fourth consecutive quarterly loss.
Han said the company still had strong cash flow after years of solid profits.
"We don't have any problems in financing and I'll guarantee there'll be no rights offering this year," Han told reporters in Las Vegas at the Consumer Electronics Show.
"It seems that the CEO's news conference is providing a boost for LG Display shares," Jason Kang, an analyst at NH Investment & Securities, said.
LG Display, an affiliate of TV maker LG Electronics Inc , showcased the world's largest 55-inch OLED TV panel at the event, raising expectations that the new display will partly help to offset sluggish sales growth for traditional TV panels, analysts said.
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