Ahead of Apple’s Wednesday Q1 2021 earnings call, iPhone screen-maker manufacturer LG Display has posted its latest earnings — and they’re good. Very good, in fact.
According to Reuters, the South Korean company reported its highest quarterly profit in more than three years. The success of the iPhone 12 is said to be one of the big reasons.
The company posted an operating profit of 685 billion won ($618 million) in the last three months of 2020. That compares with $422 billion won ($380 million) in the same period one year ago.
This is the highest quarterly profit since the second quarter of 2017, and far ahead of market expectations.
“The first half of the year is usually a seasonal down-cycle, but this year is different. It will continue to swing to profit, as iPhone 12 sales are expected to increase panel shipments by 1.5 to two times the amount a year earlier,” Kim Kwang-jin, an analyst at Yuanta Securities Korea, told Reuters.
The report claims that iPhone shipments for the quarter were up 21% year-on-year. (If you’re confused about the fact that Apple’s about to report its Q1 earnings, while LG Display just reported its Q4, that’s explained by the fact that Apple’s fiscal year starts in October.)
iPhone 12: Off to a strong start
This isn’t the first Apple supplier to report strong recent earnings. Recently, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) reported better-than-expected profits for the last three months of 2020. TSMC, which makes Apple’s A-series chips, was reportedly helped by “robust” demand for the iPhone 12.
Meanwhile, Flurry Analytics has said the iPhone 12 enjoyed a stronger launch than any iPhone in the past three years. This Christmas, the iPhone reportedly made up nine of the top 10 handsets activated in the U.S. The only one of the new iPhones not to make the list was the iPhone 12 mini.
Source: Reuters
