14 DAY TRIAL // Samsung may be quite the power on the display market, but it looks like its liquid crystal display business is not doing as well as some may think.
The company has decided that it was time for the liquid crystal display business to break apart from the whole and follow its own path.
Given recent events, this may come as a surprise. If nothing else, it was not too long ago that Samsung set a fairly ambitious TV shipment target for 2012.
For those who do not remember, the guidance for this year is 50 million flat-panel TVs, of which 50% will be Smart TVs.
Nonetheless, it is now clear that Samsung is not going to hold onto the LCD branch of its business.
Thus, starting on April 1, 2012, the LCD division will become Samsung Display Co. LTD.
The IT player claims that this maneuver will accelerate its decision making process and, thus, should aid in better responding to market demands and conditions.
This is not to say that Samsung is totally backing out of the display industry, though.
In fact, the company will invest quite a bit in this area, of $5.8 billion, a sum that translates into 4.39 billion Euro.
A large part of these funds will be funneled into the OLED technology, which has already spawned this 55-inch model.
LCDs are just not going as strong as they used to, so Samsung is determined to be as little affected as possible by the continued decline in demand and the rising financial losses.
Since anything is possible, we are tempted to think there is at least the tiniest chance of this being an April Fools prank. The spin-off will be completed on April 1 after all.
Then again, it makes sense that Samsung would be quick to cut its losses. It would not do to end up bankrupt like Kodak.