LG eyes 15 percent increase in TV shipments in 2013
LG Electronics is aiming to increase its flat-panel television shipments this year, and steal a march on competitor Samsung to put its organic light-emitting diode (OLED) TVs on the market.
In a Reuters report Thursday, the South Korean company said it wants to increase its TV shipments in 2013 by 15 percent. The company previously outlined plans to tap the premium television market and offer OLED and Ultra HD television sets this year, along with the sales of 3D and smart TVs.
The company also announced it has received more than 100 pre-orders for its 55-inch OLED TVs which cost more than US$10,000 each.
LG will start selling OLED TVs on Monday, according to the report. So far rival Samsung has not announced when it will start producing OLED TVs.
While LG will unlikely see a sharp boost in its profit margins from OLED TVs due to the high pricing, the company hopes the early move to OLED will help revive its fortunes.
LG's TV business has been seeing its profit margins slide over the past few quarters: 5.7 percent in Q2, 0.8 percent in Q3 and 0.3 percent in Q4.