Samsung Elec to Cut TV LCD Output Sharply: Report

Samsung Electronics Co plans to reduce its monthly television panel output by fourth-fifths by the end of this year and convert some of the lines to produce displays used in tablets and notebook, a media report said on Tuesday.

The move comes as global flat-screen makers are struggling with depressed consumer demand for televisions and computers amid mounting uncertainty over global economic prospects.

The Korea Economic Daily said in an unsourced report that Samsung plans to reduce its monthly TV panel production from between 1 million and 1.3 million units to around 200,000-300,000 units by the end of this year.

Samsung also plans to shift some of its TV panel production lines to make tablets and notebook panels, the report said.

Samsung said on Tuesday it would not comment on market rumors.

The South Korean firm, which vies for the top title worldwide with LG Display in the large-sized liquid crystal display (LCD) flat-screen market, has said it would keep production flexible according to the market outlook.

LG Display also said on Monday that it would slash next year's capital spending by a quarter as booming sales of mobile devices from iPads to Android smartphones saps demand for TV panels, its main source of earnings.

The LCD business is the most underperforming unit among Samsung's core operations, which also includes memory chips, handsets and televisions. The flat-screen division reported a second consecutive quarterly loss in the second quarter, and Samsung replaced the division head and combined it into its chip business.

(Reporting by Miyoung Kim; Editing by Ken Wills)