LG Display hit by falling Apple sales Falling demand from Apple hit quarterly profits of LG Display as the South Korean panel maker struggles to diversify its customer base amid growing concerns about falling sales of the iPhone maker. Apple is LG Display's biggest customer and accounts for an estimated 40 per cent of the company's operating profit as of the last quarter. The US company on Tuesday is expected to report its first year-on-year decline in quarterly earnings for almost a decade as the iPhone and iPad lose some of their lustre. The world's largest panel maker by sales reported a Won3.5bn net profit in the first quarter to the end of March, its smallest since it returned to the black in the second quarter of last year. The net profit dropped sharply from a Won320bn profit in the previous quarter. The sharp fall in profits was due to seasonally-weak demand and supply adjustment from customers, the company said. Its first-quarter panel shipments to Apple dropped by about 40 per cent from the previous quarter, HI Investment & Securities estimated. LG Display is the second company to report weaker profits due to lower demand from Apple after Cirrus Logic, a maker of audio chips for the iPhone, last week reported lower than expected quarterly results and weaker than forecast sales guidance. "The sharp fall was expected because of seasonal factors and falling sales of Apple's products, but the results were better than expected as sales were supported by strong demand from Chinese TV producers," said Chung Won-seok at HI Investment. LG Display expects its panel shipments to increase 5-10 per cent in the second quarter from the first quarter while panel prices are forecast to stabilise. Analysts say panel demand from Apple could increase again in the current quarter as Apple is expected to launch an upgraded iPhone in July and a new iPad in September or October. "The launch of Apple's new products will generally be a plus factor for LG's earnings in the second half, but the new iPhone should have a lot of innovative features to boost sales of Apple, therefore those of LG Display," said Mr Chung, adding that such expectations for a completely new iPhone were low. He also added that growing demand from affiliate LG Electronics would also help support LG Display's earnings in coming quarters as LG Electronics prepares to launch various smartphones this year to tackle the lower end of the market.