이 기사는 2022년 03월 02일 08시12분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

LG Electronics’ exit from the solar panel business is expected to cause a reduction of 800 billion won ($663 million) in revenue of its business solutions (BS) division.

LG Electronics’ business consists of home appliance and air solution (H&A), home entertainment (HE), vehicle component solutions (VS) and BS divisions.

The BS division accounts for the smallest portion of the company’s total revenue. It recorded operating losses in the third and fourth quarters of 2021 due to poor profitability of the solar penal business.

LG Electronics is estimated to have generated approximately 800 billion won in revenue from the solar penal business in 2020, which accounted for about 13% of the BS division’s revenue of 6 trillion won. The pullback from the solar panel business would help the company improve profitability, which would boost its operating profit and corporate value.

The size of the BS division, however, will inevitably shrink. To avoid it, the company will have to expand its other businesses including IT products, which include monitors and laptops, ID products, which involve digital signage and commercial TVs, and new business like robots.

LG Electronics’ digital signage business has come into the limelight. According to Fortune Business Insights study, the global digital signage market is predicted to reach $35.94 billion by 2026.

LG Electronics is focusing on its signage business using microLED and OLED technologies amid growing demands for digital displays that are used in corporate lobbies, galleries, luxury residences and public settings.

LG Electronics installed its extra-large LED digital signage at Wembley Stadium in London and its flexible displays and transparent OLED displays at the Salon Heritage, which showcases Unesco World Heritages, in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. (Reporting by Choong-hee Won)