Posted on Friday, February 13 2015 @ 11:23 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck
Samsung revealed it's going to invest 4 trillion won (around $3.6 billion) in production capacity for OLED screens. Reuters
writes the new production line will focus mainly on medium and small-sized OLED displays for smartphones and tablets. The investment is planned from 2015 to 2017.
Analysts said the new line will initially produce curved panels like those on the Galaxy Note Edge, and eventually help win external customers which are becoming crucial to parent Samsung Electronics' future earnings growth as sales of its erstwhile cashcow smartphone business decline.
Recent data shows that arch rival Apple Inc caught up to or surpassed Samsung as the world's top smartphone maker in the fourth quarter.
"In the long run I think it's possible for sales to expand to outside customers," said Oh Sang-woo, analyst at Leading Investment & Securities, adding that these clients may include competitors seeking to play catch-up by using curved screens.
