Top Shipping Stocks To Watch Right Now

Top Shipping Stocks To Watch Right Now: LG Display Co Ltd (LPL)

LG Display Co., Ltd. (LG Display), incorporated in 1985, manufactures thin-film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panels in a range of sizes and specifications primarily for use in televisions, notebook computers and desktop monitors, and the Company is a suppliers of high-definition television panels. The Company also manufactures TFT-LCDs for other application products, such as mobile phones, certain types of tablet personal computers and industrial and other applications, including entertainment systems, automotives, portable navigation devices, e-books, digital photo displays and medical diagnostic equipment. During the year ended December 31, 2010, LG Display sold a total of 160.4 million large-size (nine-inch or larger) TFT-LCD panels. In addition to TFT-LCD panels, the Company also manufactures organic light-emitting diode (OLEDs) and flexible displays. As of March 31, 2011, the Company held a total of 15,049 patents, including 6,724 in Korea and 8,325 in other countries, including in the United States, China, Japan, Germany, France, Great Britain and Taiwan.

In May 2010, the Company purchased the liquid crystal display module division of LG Innotek Co., Ltd. (LG Innotek), a subsidiary of LG Electronics. In June 2010, the Company entered into a joint venture agreement with Iriver Ltd. to establish L&I Electronic Technology (Dongguan) Ltd. in Dongguan, China. In August 2010, the Company entered into a joint venture agreement with Everlight Electronics Co., Ltd. and AmTRAN Technology Co., Ltd., to establish Eralite Optoelectronics (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd.

As of December 31, 2010, the Company operated 12 panel fabrication facilities (five in Paju, Korea and seven in Gumi, Korea, and including expansions of certain facilities) and a total of nine module facilities (three in Nanjing, China, two in Guangzhou,! China and one each in Gumi and Paju, Korea, Yantai, China and Wroclaw, Poland). In 2010, its display p anels were included in products sold by LG Electronics, Appl! e, Toshiba, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Philips Electronics.

Televisions

The Company's television panels range from 15 inches to 72-inch wide-format in size. The Company's product portfolio includes panels of various sizes, such as 17-inch, 19-inch, 20-inch, 22-inch, 26-inch, 32-inch, 37-inch, 42-inch, 47-inch and 55-inch panels.As of december 31, 2010, 32-inch, 37-inch, 42-inch and 47-inch wide-format panels consists of principal products in this category in terms of sales revenue and sales volume.

Desktop Monitors

The Company's desktop monitor display panels range from 15 inches to 30-inch wide-format in size in a variety of display resolutions and formats. In 2010, 19-inch and 21.5-inch display panels were its principal products in terms of sales revenue and sales volume in this category.

Notebook Computers

The Company's display panels for notebook computers range from seven inches to 20.1- inch wide-format in size in a variety of display formats. In 2010, 15.6-inch, 9.7-inch and 14-inch panels were its principal products in this category.

Mobile and Other Applications

The Company's product portfolio also includes panels for mobile and other applications, which utilize a wide array of display panel sizes, including mobile phones, certain types of tablet personal computers and industrial and other applications, including entertainment systems, automotives, portable navigation devices, e-books, digital photo displays and medical diagnostic equipment. TFT-LCD panels that are nine inches and smaller are referred to as small and medium-size panels, with those smaller than four inches being considered small-size panels. In 2010, sales of small-size panels constituted a significant majority in terms of both sales revenue and sales v! olume in ! the mobile and other applications category. Some of the panels the Company produces for industrial pr oducts, such as medical diagnostic equipment.

T! he Compan! y competes with Samsung Electronics, Samsung Mobile Display and Hydis Technologies, AU Optronics, Chimei Innolux, Chunghwa Picture Tubes, HannStar, Sharp, Hitachi, TMDisplay, Mitsubishi, IPS-Alpha, SAVIC, Infovision and BOE-OT.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Steve Symington]

  Next, keep in mind drastic yield improvements for the large OLED panels built by competitor LG Display  (NYSE: LPL  ) have allowed LG Electronics to lower the price of its own 55-inch model to roughly $6,000, and further price drops are expected by the end of this year. Less than two weeks ago, LG Display also confirmed it will expand its OLED TV production in the second half of 2014 with the ramp of its own gen-8 production line.

• [By Steve Sechrist]

  No trouble with the curve
  The curved OLED screens in UHD are top-of-the-line, and LG  (NYSE: LPL  ) and rival Samsung (NASDAQOTH: SSNLF  ) are both expanding the line of spectacular display sets with a 65-inch and 77-inch size, respectively. LG's 77-inch television is a "bendable" version that can transform back to a flat screen when used for ambient viewing of art. These UHD curved TVs, according to Dr. Ray Soneira of DisplayMate Labs, have marked advantages in that reduce glare and screen reflection from bright images behind the user. Curved displays "substantially" improve performance and are "no marketing gimmick," according to Soneira's technology review. 

• [By Rahul Chattaraj]

  Among other smartphone makers LG (LPL) is the only one that witnessed a rise in market share, but it still controls less the 10% of the market. Although the company saw a marginal increase in its market share, it should thank its stars considering other major players' disappointing performance. One of the prime reasons w! hy LG man! aged a positive market share trend is that it made Google's (GOOG) Nexus 4 and 5. These handsets did decent enough to pull up LG's presence in the smartphone arena, although it is way behind Apple's and Samsung's.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-shipping-stocks-to-watch-right-now.html