This is classic. One headline blares “LG Display Gets Boost from Apple” while another trumpets “Slowdown in Apple orders weighs on LG Display’s first-quarter profit.” The former is from The Wall Street Journal and the latter from Reuters.
Miyoung Kim reports for Reuters out of Seoul, South Korea, which just incidentally happens to be the headquarters of Samsung, owners of South Korea.
Kim reports, “LG Display Co Ltd reported its smallest profit since it returned to the black in the second quarter of last year, as demand for iPhone and iPad screens from Apple weakened amid concerns the U.S. company is losing its luster in the mobile device market.”
“Apple Inc, which analysts say provides about 30 percent of LG Display’s revenue, is facing intensifying competition from Samsung and up-and-coming rivals. A disappointing forecast by a U.S. supplier to Apple last week heightened fears about slowing demand for the iPhone and iPad, pushing shares of Asian suppliers including LG Display sharply lower,” Kim reports. “The result was also a sharp improvement from a loss of 211 billion won a year earlier. But it was down 74 percent from the previous quarter, hurt by a seasonal slowdown in demand and by weaker sales to Apple, which is scheduled to report quarterly results on Tuesday.”
MacDailyNews Take: Seasonality, we understand. But where’s your proof that Apple caused LG Display’s post-holiday quarter to be less than the preceeding quarter, but higher year-over-year? Miyoung, we certainly hope your on-so-credible “report” isn’t just based on the opinion of some “analyst’s” estimate. Imagine if it was based on an “analyst” from Seoul, South Korea! Nah, Reuters would never allow that…
Kim reports, “Jay Yoo, an analyst at Korea Investment & Securities, estimated before the results announcement that LG Display’s panel shipments for the iPhone 5 and the latest iPad had fallen 42 percent and 66 percent, respectively, from the prior quarter as Apple struggles with slowing sales growth.”
MacDailyNews Take: Korea Investment & Securities. Based in Seoul, South Korea. Oh, so Jay “estimates” those figures, huh? Puleeze.
Kim reports, “On Tuesday, Apple is expected to report just an 8 percent increase in revenue for its fiscal second quarter, among the weakest showings in years, according to analysts’ estimates.”
MacDailyNews Take: Again, analysts “estimate” Apple to post “just an” 8% INCREASE year-over-year by selling high-end products in a sick worldwide economy.
Kim reports, “Still, analysts see earnings for LG Display improving in the coming quarters as Apple is expected to introduce upgraded products later this year, and as demand for mobile device screens from affiliate LG Electronics Inc increases”
MacDailyNews Take: Fifth sentence from the end of the Reuters hit-piece. Lede buried.
Samsung Securities analyst Harrison Cho expects Apple to introduce a less costly iPhone around July, helping LG Display improve its sales to Apple from June when initial parts shipments are expected to begin.
MacDailyNews Take: Yes, when we want credible, untarnished predictions about Apple’s future moves, we head directly for an “analyst” from Samsung Securities. Are you serious, Miyoung?
Kim reports, “LG Display said on Monday that it expects panel shipments will rise by 5 percent to 10 percent in the second quarter from the previous quarter.”
MacDailyNews Take: That was the final sentence of the report, which exists only to spread a negative headline and further blacken sentiment against Apple. We wouldn’t be at all surprised to find out that Samsung paid for it.
Reuters’ piece, and we do mean “piece,” here.
Under the headline, “‘LG Display Gets Boost from Apple,” Min-Jeong Lee reports for The Wall Street Journal, “LG Display Co. 034220.SE +2.18% swung to a net profit in the first quarter as tablet screen sales to Apple Inc. increased, and analysts said the South Korean display maker’s fortunes this year will be closely tied to demand for the U.S. company’s gadgets.”
MacDailyNews Take: The Journal doesn’t state where Lee is based. If in Seoul, congrats on remaining independent, or on missing the memo, or on not taking the check, Min-Jeong.
“LG Display, which counts Apple and LG Electronics as major customers, said Monday it logged a net profit of 3.5 billion won ($3.1 million) for the quarter ended March 31, against a year-earlier loss of 129 billion won,” Lee reports. “Analysts said LG Display is expected to generate about two-fifths of operating profit this year from sales to Apple, and it has to widen its client base for longer-term growth.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: This isn’t new. Reuters, as we pointed out in mid-January, should be regarded as a laughingstock with its blatantly obvious pro-Samsung and anti-Apple ridiculousness.
Apple shareholders should be incensed.
Related articles:
Daring Fireball’s Gruber on ‘ceding the crown’ – March 15, 2013
Apple shares drop below $500 after reported cuts in iPhone 5 parts orders – January 14, 2013
