SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's KS:034220 <034220.KS> on Wednesday said operating profit fell 38 percent in the first quarter, less than analysts estimated, as solid growth in smartphone screens weakened the impact of revenue decline in TV panels.
The world's biggest maker of liquid crystal displays reported January-March operating profit of 94 billion won ($91 million), from 151 billion a year earlier and 257 billion in the previous quarter.
The result compared with the 51 billion won mean profit estimate of 34 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Revenue fell 18 percent on year to 5.6 trillion won, compared with the 6 trillion won mean estimate of 35 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Shares of LG Display have risen 14 percent since the start of the year, compared with a 0.4 percent decline in the Korea Composite Stock Price Index <.KS11>. Ahead of the results, they closed 0.7 percent lower versus a 0.2 percent fall in the benchmark.
(Reporting by Se Young Lee; Editing by Christopher Cushing)