LG Display posts 3rd consecutive quarterly loss on weak panel demand

LG Display posts 3rd consecutive quarterly loss on weak panel demand

SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korean display panel maker LG Display on Friday posted its third consecutive quarterly loss, as global demand for electronic gadgets such as smartphones, computers and televisions remains depressed amid an uncertain economic outlook.

The Apple Inc supplier posted a 876 billion won ($711.13 million) operating loss for the October-December quarter, compared with a profit of 476 billion won in the same period a year earlier.

It missed an average forecast of a 797 billion won loss from 10 analysts polled by Refinitiv SmartEstimate, which is weighted toward analysts that are more consistently accurate.

Revenue fell 17% to 7.3 trillion won, LG Display said in a regulatory filing.

Analysts forecast continued operating losses for the display maker in the current quarter, as consumers cut back spending and businesses slash jobs to ride out harder times.

In order to weather the downturn, LG Display said last month it is stopping production of liquid-crystal display (LCD) TV panels in South Korea.

The display maker has also offered voluntary leave of absence for a small number of domestic office workers as well as some production personnel.

($1 = 1,231.8400 won)

(Reporting by Joyce Lee and Heekyong Yang; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)