If Nokia is betting everything on the alliance with Microsoft to keep up with Apple in the smartphone market (see the article "stock market newsletter"), the Korean giant LG Display, the world's second largest manufacturer of flat screens after its compatriot Samsung, has decided to cut capital expenditures by 18% for its liquid crystal display (LCD) production.
The global sector of LCD screens - they say from the company - is in serious decline. Above all, if the general demand for televisions has eased, prices have dropped significantly, in a market where supply is now overabundant. The decision to cut production comes after LG's net profit fell 96 percent for the second quarter. LCD screens are used for TVs, computers, mobile phones, tablets: evidently, after the strong growth of recent years, the market is now saturated.
And the forecasts for the third quarter are equally negative. Analysts of the Korean manufacturer report that the significant slowdown in demand concerns not only Europe and North America, but also China: in the first half of 2011, the growth in demand for televisions was 15% in the Asian country, definitely frustrating expectations , aiming for 30%.
