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(Update: Samsung denies it) Samsung Display reportedly splitting to focus on OLED and kill off LCD
The Korea Times’ article about ‘Samsung spins off OLED business’ is incorrect. Samsung Display has never spun off OLED business and will try its best to develop and produce LCD and OLED products to enrich human-beings environment and improve the well-being of society as one of the world-leading display companies.
Original post, July 4: Samsung’s latest restructuring effort has hit its Display division hard. Samsung Display is reportedly splitting off its OLED production lines and is “initiating an exit strategy” for its less profitable LCD display business, The Korea Times reports.
The Samsung Group has been working on a company-wide restructuring and efficiency plan for quite some time now. You may recall the “difficult business environment” discussed back in 2015, amid concerns over the semiconductor and OLED businesses carrying several other divisions including mobile.
Those restructuring efforts continue, and Samsung Display is the latest business unit under the microscope. Citing an unnamed Samsung official, The Korea Times reports: “Samsung Display separated the company’s OLED business division and more of Samsung Display’s workforce joined the OLED business unit”.
Samsung is initiating an exit strategy for LCDs, which are no longer promising and have become unprofitable
The official also said that “Samsung is initiating an exit strategy for LCDs, which are no longer promising and have become unprofitable”. Profitability notwithstanding, the LCD component of Samsung Display might end up being acquired by Samsung Electronics, which currently owns 84.8% of Samsung Display. Samsung Electronics would use those LCD lines to focus on its LCD TV business.
Samsung Display will not be any worse off without its flailing LCD business. Having won the Apple contract to produce OLED panels for the 2017 iPhones, along with its own Galaxy flagship line, Samsung has the smartphone display racket pretty well stitched up. Nevertheless, Samsung Display reported a $235 million loss in Q1, 2016, primarily due to a lack of profitability in the LCD business.
Does this news surprise you Do you prefer AMOLED over LCD displays?