Sony is set to double its demand for OLED TV panels from LG Display starting in 2019 as the Japanese consumer electronics company looks to fulfill the rising demand for its OLED TVs, industry sources revealed on Monday. Sony is reportedly planning to request more than 600,000 panels per year beginning in 2019 from LG Display’s planned Guangzhou, China-based factory to increase the production volume of its OLED TVs, insiders claim.
Earlier this month, it was reported that LG plans to invest 1.8 trillion won (approximately $1.67 billion) in an 8.5G line for OLED panels at a plant in Guangzhou. The plant is expected to help double LG Display’s OLED panel production capacity once its construction is completed. Currently, LG Display’s 8.5G OLED production operations are estimated to be capable of producing about 60,000 units per month by the end of the year, which means the upcoming facility will be capable of manufacturing approximately 120,000 units on a monthly basis. This could help drive the prices of OLED TVs down while simultaneously boosting the number of global OLED panel shipments, some industry watchers said. Those factors have now reportedly prompted Sony to increase its OLED orders from LG Display.
LG Display’s plan to open an OLED production plant in Guangzhou is just part of a wider effort by the firm to invest nearly 10 trillion won (approximately $8.86 billion) in large-scale OLED production facilities for display panels. In addition to the Guangzhou plant, the South Korean manufacturer and supplier also plans to spend approximately 2.8 trillion won on a 10.5G line at a plant in Paju, South Korea, as well as securing 5 trillion won for the creation of a 6G line at Paju that is focused on flexible OLED panels. LG Display’s recent financial report revealed that the company’s revenues in the second quarter of the year grew by 13 percent from 5.855 trillion won during the same period last year, amounting to 6.629 trillion won in Q2 2017. With Sony planning to order more OLED panels in 2019, LG Display’s sales in the future are also expected to grow. An update on Sony and LG Display’s OLED-related endeavors is likely to follow in the coming months.