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Operator
(foreign language) Ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to LG Display's First Quarter of 2018 Earnings Release Conference Call.
We will begin with a presentation, followed by a Q&A session.
(Operator Instructions) Now we will begin, start with the presentation.
I hand over to the speaker.
Ma'am, please begin.
Heeyeon Kim - Head of IR and VP
(Interpreted) Good morning.
Thank you for joining LG Display's Q1 2018 our Earnings Conference Call.
I am Heeyeon Kim, Head of IR, and I would like to thank all the participants on behalf of the company.
Here with me at this conference call today, we have the CFO, Sang-Don Kim of LG Display; Young Kwon Song, SVP of Strategy and Marketing Group; DuckYong Kim, Head of Corporate Business Management Division; Matthew Kim, Head of Market Intelligence; Stephen Ko, Head of TV Marketing; JY Kwon, Head of IT Marketing; [KJ Jin], Head of Mobile Marketing.
Today's earnings presentation will last around 1 hour in both Korean and English.
There will be a presentation on the company's financial performance in the First Quarter of 2018 and market outlook to be followed by Q&A.
Please refer to our website and attachment to our disclosures for more details regarding Q4 results -- or Q1 results, excuse me.
For those of you who joining us via the webcast, please refer to the references in the widget on the bottom left corner.
And before we begin the presentations, please take a moment to read the disclaimer.
Please note that today's results are based on consolidated K-IFRS standards prepared for your benefit, and have not been audited by an outside auditor.
With that, said, our CFO, Sang-Don Kim, will now start with the presentation on Q1 2018 Earnings Results.
Sang-Don Kim - CFO, Senior VP & Standing Director
(Interpreted) Good morning and afternoon and evening for those calling in from abroad.
This is Sang Don Kim, CFO of LG Display.
I would like to thank our shareholders, analysts and investors for joining LG Display's Q1 2018 Earnings Release Conference Call.
Looking back to the first quarter, aside from the traditional seasonality, there were concerns in the market regarding oversupply, driven mainly by Chinese panel makers.
This resulted in market movements that were less favorable than anticipated, with the ASP continuing its downward trend as the set makers maintained conservative purchasing manner.
Neither was the exchange rate in our favor, as the Korean won remained strong.
The company implemented a contingency plan that was ready under our scenario planning to prepare for such market changes, but it was not enough to overcome the current market challenges in a short time, and the first quarter ended in deficit.
But we are seeing positive results in our effort to transition to OLED.
OLED TV market saw demand growth bigger than the company's production capacity even as the LCD market slowed down faster than expected.
We will be focusing on executing efficient and flexible CapEx management and maintaining operational excellency, focusing more on OLED TV, where there are meaningful results in both the direction and pace and flexibly adjusting CapEx in plastic OLED, where uncertainties keep growing.
I will follow-up with more details after presenting the financial performance of the first quarter.
Revenue in Q1 was KRW 5.6752 trillion, down 20% quarter-on-quarter.
It is attributable to the continued panel price decline and shipment decrease from seasonality.
In comparison, the OLED share out of TV shipment and revenue increased Q-o-Q further solidifying OLED's premium positioning.
The company recorded KRW 98.3 billion in operating loss in Q1 despite the growth in the share of OLED TV and profitability, mostly due to the continued decline in LCD panel price and the strong won.
Area shipment in Q1 was 10.08 million square meters.
It fell by 9 percentage points Q-o-Q due to seasonality and reduced capacity.
Capacity was reduced by 5 percentage points Q-o-Q due to maintenance that is generally performed in low season and increase in R&D usage.
Area ASP fell 11 percentage points Q-o-Q.
Although the company maintained profitability focused product mix, there was considerable decrease in small to medium mobile products with high area ASP.
As for the product mix, mobile revenue share was 22%, down 6 percentage points Q-o-Q.
The revenue share of other segments all rose slightly.
It was 19% for notebook and tablet, 16% for monitor and 43% for TV, where high value add OLED TV grew in share, while LCD TV panel price kept declining.
Next is the company's financials and indicators.
Inventory was KRW 2.3504 trillion, almost flat Q-o-Q.
Inventory at quarter end appears to be similar from the preceding quarter in value, following the increase in high value add products, like OLED TV, but it is managed at an appropriate level in volume.
As for financial ratios, liabilities and net debt ratios rose as a result of increased borrowing to fund the strategic growth in CapEx.
The company moved ahead early, as interest rates are expected to rise globally this year.
Cash at the end of Q1 was KRW 3.497 trillion, up KRW 136.3 billion from the previous quarter.
Next is the company's guidance for the second quarter.
The capacity that was reduced in the first quarter due to maintenance and R&D usage is going to return to the normal level in the second quarter, and as a result, the area shipment is going to increase by mid-single-digit.
But based on the shipment volume, it is going to remain flat Q-o-Q.
There is going to be these migration to larger size in order to respond to sporting events.
And as a result, the area is increasing, but then because of the limited capacity, production remains almost similar to the previous -- almost similar to the past.
And as for the panel price, due to the end demand and also the -- depending on the actual producibility of the Chinese new fabs in the second quarter, we believe that the panel price trajectory will be determined based on these factors.
And given the structural oversupply changes in the LCD industry, we believe that there is going to be downward rigidity of the panel price in order to ensure profitability rather than continued price decline.
And as a result, we believe that the price decline is going to stabilize in the next quarter.
Next is the company's outlook and strategy for this year.
In the display panel industry in 2018, size migration is expected to accelerate in LCD panel, and demand is expected to grow for large OLED, mostly due to sport events.
We understand the uncertainties within the industry, caused by oversupply from Chinese panel makers, plastic OLED demand and the unfavorable currency movement.
Although transition to OLED was already underway to prepare for such changes in the LCD market, competition growth and price decline in LCD were faster than expected.
With a clear grasp of the current situation, the company is trying to improve profitability by adjusting the product mix and strengthening cost-cutting initiatives.
At the same time, we will run a flexible CapEx strategy under the contingency plan.
Under the strategy of transitioning to OLED, there are ongoing in-depth discussions on where to focus our strategic capability and where we should adjust the pace and scale.
CapEx for this year will be -- will proceed as planned to ensure our future competitiveness.
But the size of LCD CapEx, such as maintenance CapEx, will be adjusted downward.
Particularly, for OLED, investment in 2019 and '20 will be adjusted in size and pace in light of the market situation and profitability.
More specifically, as shortage continues in OLED TV: first, the company will try to improve productivity through higher efficiency, such as reduced TAV time; second, preparation for volume production in China's OLED fab in 2019 will proceed as planned; third, we are reviewing the possibility of effectively transitioning the domestic LCD fab for OLED usage.
And particularly, for the domestic fab shift to OLED, we will optimize the transition pace and timing as we monitor customers OLED purchase trend and the OLED cost.
We will share more detailed plans once they are ready.
For plastic OLED, we are appropriately adjusting the investment with full awareness of risk factors, such as demand uncertainty and high level of CapEx required.
But the basic stance remains that investment will continue in plastic OLED to prepare for market changes.
It is the indispensable innovative technology needed to prepare for future businesses, not only in mobile, but also in foldable and auto display.
Thank you very much for your attention.
Heeyeon Kim - Head of IR and VP
(Interpreted) That brings us to the end of earnings presentation for Q1 2018.
We will now take questions.
And please also be informed that starting from this quarter, we will also be taking questions from the minority shareholders, as the last part of the Q&A session.
Operator
(Operator Instructions) (foreign language) Our first question is from KB Securities.
Unidentified Analyst
(Interpreted) Now I have 3 questions regarding the OLED.
Now first, we see that in terms of the demand for the OLED TV panel, there has been quite a strong demand, so much so that demand is actually outpacing capacity by 30%.
So there is a 30% shortfall in the capacity compared to the demand.
And we also see that for the OLED TV set makers, they have recorded the best perform -- record performance, actually, in the first quarter of this year, meaning that the market environment seems to be quite favorable.
Perhaps the time is right for LG to also increase the pricing for OLED for the first time in 5 years since you started this business.
So if you could give us some guidance on the possibility of pricing adjustment, going forward, for OLED?
And then the second question is about the small and medium OLED, and there have been some reports in the foreign media that because of the technological problems from one of your strategic customers, you have been excluded as the supplier for plastic OLED, the small to medium plastic OLED.
So if you could give us an update regarding that situation.
And then what is your production plan for the E6 line in Paju?
And the third question is about the P10 CapEx.
First of all, is there any plan for a further fundraising?
For example, a capital -- a paid-in capital increase?
Because for the next 3 years, KRW 20 trillion investment would be needed for P10.
And then also for the -- so your intent is to reduce the investment in small to medium OLED and focus more on the large size OLED?
And -- but then I also understand that this is going to be planned as a 10.5 generation for P10, but then in such a case, there could also be some risks involved.
So do you also have plans to perhaps produce the 8.5 generation here?
Sang-Don Kim - CFO, Senior VP & Standing Director
(interpreted) Now first, I will take your question about the OLED panels for TV.
Now since we have launched our OLED panel in the market, we believe that we were able to increase awareness among the customers and also achieve a high end positioning among the clients, thanks to our innovative technology.
So thanks to such response, and also depending on the clients profitability and also our brand value and the premium positioning, so thanks to all these different factors there is now demand that is actually much -- that is outpacing our supply capacity.
So yes, we believe that the tight supply is going to continue for some time.
Now for pricing, of course, basically, it should reflect the supply-demand dynamics.
But then also, at the same time, we have to think about our partnerships with the customers, so the kind of value that we can give our customers, and so we have to be mindful of the partnership as we try to come to an agreement on the expectations.
So we will continue our discussions with our clients regarding the pricing of the OLED panel from a strategic point of view and also with an eye toward expanding the OLED TV market.
Next, regarding your question on the plastic OLED, now we are also fully aware of the reports from foreign and domestic media regarding our customer.
What is for sure is that not all these stories and the news have been validated or filtered.
And of course, we are not in the position to comment on our relations with particular or specific customers, but what is sure is that these news and stories are not based on facts.
And now on to your third question.
Now as we have been reiterating since last year, we are not considering, let's say, paid-in increase -- paid-in capital increase or any way of increasing our equity.
Now thanks to the financial fundamentals, the very good financial strength that had -- that we have been built over the past 5 to 6 years, we believe that it is not necessary to try to build up equity.
And rather, we believe that we still have very good opportunities to do funding in the capital market.
And as I had explained in my report on the highlights earlier, now given the uncertainties in the financial market this year, as well as the possibility of interest rate hike globally for the fund that we need for this year, we have actually gone ahead early with our financing.
And also, as I had repeated several times earlier, for the cash flow management, it is not looking ahead only for 1 year.
But then the cash flow management, we plan for this and we execute the cash flow management for the medium term.
So as we had explained last year, we have plans for investment until 2020, and also plans to maintain operational excellence.
And again, so the cash flow management is based on medium-term planning.
And then regarding the CapEx or our direction for the CapEx, going forward, now for the large OLED panel, as was explained earlier, we are getting the Chinese fab ready, as we speak, and that's for 8.5 generation.
And using that, we're going to respond to the market trends and demands accordingly.
And then as I had explained earlier, as we were sharing the medium to long-term investment plan last time, for the Paju, P10, that's for the 10.5 generation, now regarding this P10, we are maintaining our basic strategy.
But then, again, as was explained earlier, as for the time that we need for some validation of the technologies, that remains the same.
So we need some time for technological validation.
And then for the market demand and profitability, so in terms of the CapEx, now we are -- so we have -- so our basic stance is that for the CapEx execution, we can be very flexible to suit the -- to find the optimum timing and pace, depending on the market demand and the profitability of the company.
And now we also are discussing various scenarios.
So based on the market conditions and our technological readiness and our relations with customers, we are currently discussing and validating various scenarios, and of course, once they are ready, then we will share them.
Operator
(foreign language) Our next question is Jong Yoo at Korea Investment.
Jong Woo Yoo - Analyst
(Interpreted) Now the question was about the LCD market situation.
So we see that the price decline continues, but then so far, none of the panel makers have announced their -- any plans to adjust their utilization rate.
So then the question is, does the company have any plans to make such adjustment?
Sang-Don Kim - CFO, Senior VP & Standing Director
(Interpreted) And then so we will now first take this question, and then if we get reconnected, then perhaps, you can pick up where you have left off.
So the response to that is now for the -- so regarding your question about the utilization rate, depending on the LCD market changes, now for LG Display, our strategy and our principle has been that we will operate our fabs flexibly with an eye towards profitability.
And then now given the size migration, the fact that there is an ongoing trend towards large size, now you would know that in order to meet this demand and so in order to fulfill the necessary shipment, then you would also know that it is bound to have an impact on the utilization rate.
And also the timing now is for us to get ready for the seasonality in the second quarter and the third quarter.
So that means that the demand coming from the customers still remains quite strong.
As for our fab, again, we will make sure that we operate the fabs with the principle of profitability.
Jong Woo Yoo - Analyst
(Interpreted) And for as the second question, regarding the small and mid-size flexible OLED, it seems as if the market demand is falling short of expectations.
And because of that for both the company, as well as the peers, the capacity utilization has not been up to full.
And we believe that this situation is likely to continue into next year.
So for the small to mid-sized OLED, when do you believe that you can improve profitability?
So what is your plan regarding this front?
And of course, I do realize that this is a future technology and that you need to maintain strategic position regarding that, but at the same time, given the market situation today, it seems as if improving profitability still seems far away down the road.
Sang-Don Kim - CFO, Senior VP & Standing Director
(Interpreted) Now regarding the plastic OLED, now this is something that requires high investment and also the market volatility is also quite high.
So that is the company's understanding.
And because of this, we have mentioned several times that in terms of our investment decision making, we will remain conservative.
Now first of all, we believe that what is -- the decision that we need to make is the capacity.
So what would be the capacity that is appropriate for plastic OLED going forward?
And as for our decision-making, because of the risks, as I mentioned earlier, we will remain conservative.
And as for the profitability, now in the E5 fab in Kumi, we are making progress on the yield.
So the yield is improving considerably.
But then it also depends on when we finalize the capacity and also when we stabilize the profitability.
So the improvement in the profitability will come.
We are sure that it will come.
But then, because it is still in the early stage, it is too early for us to specify when that is going to happen.
Operator
(foreign language) Our next question is from Daiwa.
Unidentified Analyst
(Interpreted) I also have 2 questions.
Now first, as the CFO had explained earlier, depending on the profitability, you are also considering the possibility of making additional transition to the OLED TV, and we believe that that is a very good idea.
But then now for the plastic OLED, yes, it seems as if the market demand still remains uncertain, but for the auto and foldable products, we believe that high growth is likely to happen.
So I would just like to get the company's update on your preparation for auto OLED.
And then when do you believe that it can start making contribution to your revenue?
And then second question is about your loss.
So in the first quarter, during -- in your financial highlights, so you did explain about the fall in the panel price, as well as impact from the currency, but still even after accounting for these factors, the loss seems quite large than expected.
So I wonder whether there had been any the additional costs incurred in the first quarter.
And then also for the second quarter, could you give us some guidance on your profitability outlook?
Sang-Don Kim - CFO, Senior VP & Standing Director
(Interpreted) Now regarding your first question, yes, as you have rightly pointed out, we believe that for the plastic OLED, this will establish itself as an important part of not only the smartphone business, but also in the auto and foldable, thanks to its new design and form factor.
So we believe that this is going to be an important innovative technology.
So based on this understanding, the company is also actively trying to have the plastic OLED adapted for auto display.
And there is also a high level of interest expressed by our customers regarding our capacity and technology in this product.
But then now for auto, unlike other IT products, it takes some time for -- from development until the actual deployment.
And until now, the response from the customers has been quite favorable and our collaboration with the customers has also been proceeding quite smoothly.
And then, going forward, for 5G and also in self-driving vehicles, we believe that there is a big potential for fast growth in this business domain.
And then as for our profitability projection for the second quarter, now I must say that it is actually quite difficult to make such outlook.
But then, according to the experts on market forecast, many of them observed that the LCD pricing is going to stabilize in the second quarter.
So the company is also hoping that that is going to happen.
Operator
(foreign language) Next question is from Nicolas Gaudois at UBS.
Nicolas Gaudois - MD, Head of APAC Technology Research and APAC Technology Strategist
Yes.
First question is just a clarification on RGB OLED plans.
Now back in July last year, you were talking about an additional 2 lines in 2019 into the E6 hub in Paju.
Can you confirm the base case is not being scaled down to one line, and whether you could potentially, if demand is there, do the next line in 2020?
And second question is coming back to your fairly interesting comments on now thinking about converting some of the LCD capacity for, I suspect, gen 8.5 to (inaudible).
If you expect such as decision, when could that conversion start?
And would -- whilst it's probably too early to quantify how much of capacity you would move to OLED, and would that be typically of the same magnitude of what we had for the initial gen 8.5 capacity conversion and what we will have next year with the new channel lines?
Unidentified Company Representative
(foreign language).
Sang-Don Kim - CFO, Senior VP & Standing Director
(Interpreted) Now first, about the E6 line for plastic OLED, now as I had commented earlier, we believe that investment in the plastic OLED must continue to -- for our competitiveness in the future.
But then we also have to be mindful of the uncertainties in the market, and also we have to be sure that we will be able to minimize the risks that would be associated with the increased CapEx.
So based on our judgments regarding these various factors, we would have to make the decision afterwards.
So that principles applies equally to our OLED panel for large TVs.
Now for the -- so there's the OLED capacity in Paju, and then also there is the Chinese fab for 8.5 gen to be ready in the second half of 2019.
So we would have to take into account the demand and response coming from the customers.
And so based on that, we would make our decision about converting some of the LCD fab capacity for OLED capacity.
So that discussion is currently underway in the company.
And rather than based on our own decision or determination, I believe that it largely depends on the market, and we are just trying to get ready early in case that is necessary.
And we are also fully aware that one of the foremost concerns in the market regarding LG Display is its LCD capacity.
And also from the perspective of profitability, there is no reason for us to carry on a business where there is no medium to long-term pipeline, and what is important for us to make sure that we move in line with the trends in the market in a flexible manner.
So let me assure you that we are not going to make decisions that would make us fall behind market trends.
Operator
(foreign language) Next the question is from Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Unidentified Analyst
(Interpreted) Now first question is about your CapEx in 2018.
So looking at the cash flow then, is it going to be around KRW 8 trillion to KRW 9 trillion?
And then you also have mentioned that regarding your investment into the plastic OLED, you are going to remain flexible.
Now then taking that aside, then my question is for your next year's CapEx.
So assuming that you will continue your investment into the P10 for TV and also for the OLED fab in China, then for next year, do you believe that the CapEx would be at the similar level at around KRW 8 trillion?
Sang-Don Kim - CFO, Senior VP & Standing Director
(Interpreted) Now please understand that at this point, it is very difficult for us to give you guidance on what our investment level is going to be for this year and next year.
But now having said that, we also did give you guidance on our CapEx for 2018 at around KRW 9 trillion.
But then now the investment in OLED, now it is for sure that investment in OLED will continue.
But at the same time, other parts of investments, for example, the maintenance CapEx for LCD and also other investment categories, there is going to be some adjustment.
So it is very likely that the CapEx for this year is going to be less than we had initially provided guidance for.
(foreign language) But then because most of the investment -- most of the CapEx out of the investment that we have planned for this year will be executed.
The -- let's say, the extent of the reduction in the CapEx is not going to be much.
And then now that would -- so that brings us to the investment for 2019 and 2020.
Now as I mentioned earlier, we are going to remain flexible in our decision-making for plastic OLED.
And also, we are making some preparation for readiness for the OLED 10.5 generation.
So actually, the timing and also the pace of the investment for OLED remain open, and we are discussing various scenarios.
Unidentified Analyst
(foreign language) And then my second question is now based on your differentiation strategy, you have been achieving very good performance on the large-size OLED for TV, and it's quite likely that you will turn around to profitability quite soon.
So the market consensus is that for this year, you would ship about 2 million, so high 2 million, so close to 3 million, and then for next year, it's likely to be 4 million to 5 million.
So regarding this outlook by the market, if the CFO could comment on this, what is your view regarding this?
And then now if you do turn around to profitability in the second half in the OLED business, then how profitable do you believe that it is going to be?
And in terms of the company, why the profitability?
So how much of the contribution do you believe that the OLED profit is going to make?
Sang-Don Kim - CFO, Senior VP & Standing Director
(foreign language) Now as you have mentioned for the OLED TV panel, yes, we have been quite successful in terms of the customers' perception of our product and also the customers' demand and also the -- enabling customers to achieve high-end positioning using the OLED panel.
Now having said -- and because of that, we are also -- we also have high hopes for growth prospect in this market as well.
But now when we look at the share volume, then it is still a signal percentage out of the entire TV market.
So in order to improve profitability, then we would have to keep building up the economy of scale, which would take some time.
(foreign language) And also in terms of value, we can see even more positive signals.
In last year, out of the total TV sales, OLED took up about mid-10% level, and this year, we believe that it's going to become even higher to around mid-20% level.
(foreign language) And also in terms of our customer base, we are going to increase them to 15 this year, which marks a very big -- good beginning for us as we try to improve profitability and continue to achieve growth.
(foreign language) And more recently, we have also rolled out some -- a series of innovative products.
So for example, the OLED 8K and the rollable display.
So we believe that -- so we are also looking forward to these products contributing to our revenue and profitability.
(foreign language) But also please understand that the -- as the CFO, I am bound to conservative position.
So as for the guidance, going forward, then in terms of the turning around to operating profit surplus for OLED TV business in the second half of this year, and also for our guidance for the full year of 2019, let me tell you that there are not going to be major adjustments or changes to the guidance.
Heeyeon Kim - Head of IR and VP
(foreign language) Now at this time, as we had informed earlier, starting this quarter, we are going to respond to questions raised by the minority shareholders, in addition, to the questions from analysts and institutional investors as our effort to strengthen communications with minority shareholders.
Now we have been receiving questions from the shareholders at -- for 2 weeks, and we had collected 40 questions and because -- and there were many redundant questions, so we have summarized them to 5 most frequently asked questions.
Now out of these 5 most frequently asked questions, 3 have already been responded to.
So we are going to respond to the remaining 2 questions.
Now out of the 5 most frequently questions, the 3 were -- the 3 that have been responded are: First, about the response to the OLED TV and your future guidance; and then the second was about the E5 operation in Kumi; and the third was about the auto OLED, so the vision and also your strategy for auto OLED.
So by 2020, what do you believe the revenue is going to be?
And then we will now respond to the 2 remaining questions raised by the minority shareholders.
And the first is about our supply of OLED to Samsung, and whether we are going to be supplying the OLED TV.
And the second question is the set makers are seeing quite a large profit, and it is difficult to comprehend why LG Display is actually seeing losses for OLED.
So what is your guidance on the OLED TV turning around to profit?
And when do you think that, that is going to happen?
Sang-Don Kim - CFO, Senior VP & Standing Director
(foreign language) Now this is the -- this a new attempt for us.
So for the first time, we are also answering to questions raised by individual shareholders, and we will use this as an opportunity for the company to communicate very frankly with the individual shareholders.
(foreign language) Now the first question is about our possible supply of LCD panel to Samsung Electronics, as well as possible supply of panels for OLED TV.
(foreign language) And actually, this is a very difficult question to answer because it pertains a particular client.
So with particular clients, of course, there are commitments that we have made and also compliance issues.
So it is very sensitive for us to respond to this question.
So please understand that we are not at liberty to discuss, let's say, volume or pricing with a particular client.
(foreign language) But as you already know, our LCD business with Samsung Electronics has started already.
And as for growth prospect, now it is a new customer, a very good customer.
So we welcome the relationship and we wish to continue to develop and expand the relationship.
(foreign language) And then for the possibility of OLED panel supply.
Now regarding the OLED panel because of our limited capacity, it is difficult for us to fulfill all the demands coming from customers regarding OLED.
(foreign language) But as we have also disclosed earlier, so we have plans for volume production to start in our fab in China next year.
And also, if necessary, we can also consider the possibility of converting the LCD fab capacity for OLED capacity.
So depending on the customer demand and market circumstances, we will be making active decisions.
(foreign language) Now the second question literally reads like this.
Now it is difficult to understand that LG Display is suffering losses, while the OLED TV set makers are seeing big profits.
(foreign language) Now first of all, of course, the business structure is different between the set makers and panel makers.
So in our case, we need to make a large-scale investment, large-scale CapEx.
So because of this, we also have to carry on with the burden of appreciation -- depreciation and amortization for 5 years.
This means that for a company like us, who makes a large-scale investment in CapEx, initially, for the first few years, it is -- we are bound to see some losses on the operating profit side.
Now having said that, also, for a company like us, that makes large-scale investment there's also EBITDA, meaning that for the EBITDA, this is the indicator for a pure cash generation capability.
And for this we also have some supplementary indicators.
(foreign language) And also, when we look at the share numbers, so 1.7 million in 2017, and the forecast for 2.5 million to 2.8 million for this year, so when you look at these numbers alone, then in terms of the volume, it is not enough for us to achieve economy of scale.
(foreign language) And then now in the past few years, we have tried to persuade the market about the OLED products.
And then the market has also validated the customers good response to this particular product.
So I believe that the developments in the market and also in this business have been positive.
And as a result, in 2017, in terms of EBITDA, we actually had been profitable.
(foreign language) And also, we were able to broaden our customer base from a few to 15.
So because of that, we believe that we -- so we have high expectations and hopes of improving the profitability in next year and also the year after that.
So we will -- so we believe that by improving the profitability, we will be able to see operating profit in the near future.
Heeyeon Kim - Head of IR and VP
(foreign language) Now with that, we have conducted the first ever Q&A with individual shareholders, minority shareholders.
And if anything was missed, then we will assure that we will keep making improvements.
So thank you very much for understanding.
And with that, we will now close Q1 2018 Earnings Conference Call.
Thank you, once again, for joining us today.
Please do contact us at the IR team for any additional questions.
Thank you.
Editor
Statements in English on this transcript were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.
The interpreter was provided by the Company sponsoring this Event.