LG Display reports Q4 net loss of 684 bln won

(ATTN: UPDATES with more figures)
SEOUL, Jan. 16 (Yonhap) -- LG Display Co., the world's second-largest maker of
liquid-crystal displays, said Friday that it posted a massive net loss in the
final quarter of 2008 amid a steep drop in prices.

LG Display of South Korea said it lost 684 billion won (US$503 million) in the
three months ending Dec. 31 last year, compared with a profit of 760 billion won
in the same period a year earlier.
The fourth-quarter result was below a forecast for a net loss of 531.9 billion
won from analysts surveyed by Wisefn Corp., a local financial information
provider.
Like other flat-panel makers in Asia, LG Display has been hit hard as the global
economic crisis has led customers to put off buying flat-panel televisions or
computer monitors.
During the October-December period, LG display also posted an operating loss of
288 billion won, in sharp contrast with a profit of 869 billion won for the same
period a year earlier, the company said.
Sales fell 3.8 percent to 4.15 trillion won, LG Display said.
LG Display was the LCD industry's first company to report its fourth-quarter
earnings, helping investors assess the impact of the global economic slump.
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