Samsung may merge LCD and OLED businesses
Samsung Electronics has announced it may separate its LCD business, to begin focussing on next-generation display panels – namely OLED. With the slowing TV market, the world’s largest TV manufacturer’s LCD business had an operating loss of roughly $665 million last year.
The Korean giant might be thinking of merging its LCD and OLED businesses, by merging its LCD business with the rapidly growing Samsung Mobile Display. Industry analysts feel Samsung could greatly benefit by combining its LCD and OLED businesses, using the resources formerly occupied by LCD, for OLED production.
With Samsung and LG showcasing their OLED television panels at CES 2012, the industry definitely seems to be moving away from low-margin LCD panels, with Sony also showing off its own Crystal LED technology. The new OLED panels, apart from probably being cheaper to produce, can also be very thin, and can display more vivid colours when compared to LCD.
Last month, Samsung says it plans to spend a mind-boggling $6.6 trillion on its display business this year, with a majority of the funds not being invested in the LCD business.
Samsung also recently announced it would be buying Sony’s stake in their LCD joint-venture, S-LCD Corporation, formed back in 2004.
Source: BBC News