James Delahunty
19 May 2007 6:36
LG Electronics Inc. has announced it will close a manufacturing plant that produces over 840,000 42-inch plasma panels per year (about 70,000 per month) used in flat-panel television sets. The South Korean firm is making the move to cut costs and rejuvenate its business. The plant is located in Gumi, 260km southeast of Seoul, according to LG spokeswoman Judy Pae. She said the shut down of the plant is scheduled to happen in the first half of this year, so very soon.
"This move is to increase operational efficiency and to reduce costs totaling US$22 million to US$32 million annually," LG Electronics said in a statement issued later. "This is a part of LG's ongoing efforts to improve the performance of its plasma display panel business as a whole." LG's total 42-inch plasma display module production capacity will decline to 360,000 units per month, or 4.32 million a year, with the loss of the "A1" plant.
The company lost 123 billion won (US$132.1 million) in the three months ended March 31 after it had recorded net profit of 150.8 billion won a year earlier. The market for flat panel TV sets, including liquid-crystal display (LCD) and plasma sets, has suffered from oversupply and falling prices. LG competes with many other huge plasma makers including Samsung Electronics and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.
Source:
Taipei Times