LG Display (LGD) has announced plans to invest KRW 7.8 trillion (US$6.95 billion) to build two OLED lines in South Korea. Under the plans, it will make an up-front investment of KRW 2.8 trillion in a 10.5G (2,940mm x 3,370mm) large-size OLED production line at its P10 plant in Paju, Korea, where LGD's display cluster is located. The company will also invest KRW 5 trillion in a new 6G (1,500mm x 1,850mm) plastic OLED (POLED) production line in Paju.

Adding these new investments of KRW7.8 trillion onto its ongoing investment in OLED, LG Display will invest a total of KRW15 trillion into OLED production lines through 2020, thereby making its Paju display cluster the company's hub of OLED production, according toa company press release.

It said its decision on these large-scale investments came at a time when the company's newly-launched large-size OLED panels for TVs such as Wallpaper OLED and Crystal Sound OLED (CSO) are earning popularity in global markets. It said it is responding to a growing customer base for OLED TVs and public signage, and rapidly increasing OLED demand from the mobile and automotive markets.

LGD said it will also invest in a new 8.5G (2,200mm X 2,500mm) large-size OLED production line in Guangzhou, China, where the company is already running an LCD panel production plant. To this end, the company decided to establish a joint venture with total capital of KRW 2.6 trillion and will take a 70% share, worth KRW 1.8 trillion, in the joint venture.

With the smartphone display market continually shifting toward POLED, the POLED market size for smartphones is expected to reach 120 million units in 2017, increasing to 370 million units in 2020, LGD said. The flexible OLED market will also show CAGR of 63.2%, reaching 389 million units in 2020.

"We're clearly seeing the possibilities the OLED business offers, not only in the global TV segment, but also in the smartphone and automotive markets," said Sang-Beom Han, CEO and vice chairman of LGD, as cited in the company press release. "We plan to actively respond to customers' demands by expanding OLED capacity in a timely manner and developing diversified flexible displays that are fit for various applications."

LGD has reported quarterly operating profit of KRW804 billion for second-quarter 2017 despite the drastic decline in the exchange rate and the year's off-season, which caused reduced shipments of mid- and small-size panels, according to the company. The achievement was backed by the company's differentiated technologies and its focus on profitability based on the product mix for large-size Ultra HD TV panels and high-end IT panels.

The company registered KRW6,629 billion in revenues in the second quarter of 2017, an on-year increase of 13% from KRW5,855 billion. Panels for TVs accounted for 46% of the revenues in second-quarter 2017, mobile devices for 22%, desktop monitors for 17%, and tablets and notebook PCs for 15%.

Net income in second-quarter 2017 increased 8% to KRW737 billion, compared with net income of KRW 679 billion in first-quarter 2017, and an on-year turnaround from a net loss of KRW84 billion in second-quarter 2016.