Samsung SDI posts loss as plasma prices fall

South Korean plasma screen screen maker Samsung SDI said on Tuesday it had swung to a net loss in the third quarter, but forecast better results for the current quarter on surging demand for flat panels.

But results at the firm, which sells both plasma display panel (PDP) screens and traditional cathode-ray tubes for TVs, are unlikely to improve significantly as both sectors will continue to see weak pricing and margins.

Samsung SDI posted July-September net loss of $112.2 million (103.0 billion won), beating a consensus forecast for a $125.4 million loss by eight analysts polled by Reuters Estimates.

The figure compares with a $43.6 million net profit in the third quarter of last year but is an improvement from the previous quarter's $150.4 million net loss.

Sales on a parent basis came in at $995.6 million, lower than a forecast for $1.09 billion and against $1.88 billion a year earlier.

Samsung SDI posted an operating loss of $128.67 million, in line with expectations. It said operating loss margin shrank to 12.9 percent from a 15.4 percent loss in the second quarter.

Sales of plasma display screens rose 40 percent from the second quarter, Samsung SDI said, adding it expected second-half PDP module demand to surge 50 percent from the first half.

Samsung SDI was the world's top producer of PDPs in 2005, but was overtaken by Japan's Matsushita Electric Industrial and home rival LG Electronics last year as it was hit by production problems and declining sales.

Makers of plasma screens are fighting for mere survival after more-efficient and prolific liquid crystal display (LCD) makers overran the flat-screen market last year.

Samsung SDI said its sales of CRT TVs grew 17 percent from the second quarter but that pricing was weak. Mobile display sales rose 14 percent.

Samsung SDI is now betting on organic light-emitting-diode flat screens, called AM-OLEDs, as a growth driver, as they produce brighter images and use less power than plasma screens, but the technology is still years away from making an impact on the company's profitability.