Sharp Exits LCD Business, Halts Production of Large TVs
Sharp scales back its device business significantly, including liquid crystal panels and semiconductors. The company will cease production of large LCD panels for televisions at its production subsidiary Sakai Display Products (SDP, Sakai-ku, Sakai-City) by the end of September. It will also reduce production capacity for small and medium-sized LCDs at two factories in Mie Prefecture. In both cases, staff cuts will be implemented.
The company plans to seek buyers for its semiconductors, sensors, and other electronic devices businesses and withdraw from those markets.
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Japan, May 14, 2024 – Sharp has announced its financial results for the fiscal year ending March 2024, showing a net loss of 149.9 billion yen. This marks a continued loss from the previous year, which saw a net loss of 260.8 billion yen for the fiscal year ending March 2023. The primary cause of the loss is attributed to the impairment of its LCD business.
Sharp forecasts a return to profitability with a net profit of 5 billion yen for the fiscal year ending March 2025.
The company aims to "stop the bleeding" in its LCD business, proceed with structural reforms, and build a foundation for medium- to long-term growth.
The company recorded an impairment loss of 117.9 billion yen in the January-March period of 2024 due to the downsizing of its LCD business. SDP will provide its production facilities and technological assets to other companies and will use buildings and other facilities to proceed with the transformation of its business. For small and medium-sized LCDs, the company will reduce production capacity and personnel at its Kameyama plant (Kameyama City, Mie Prefecture) and Mie plant (Taki Town, Mie Prefecture) to cut fixed costs. It reduced 10.8 billion yen in business restructuring expenses. It will withdraw from the OLED business and proceed with personnel reductions in its TV business in Asia.
SDP was established in 2009 as the world’s first 10th generation LCD panel factory. The huge investment backfired, leading to a management crisis for Sharp. In 2012, the company accepted investment from Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry Group and was removed from the consolidated financial statements, but in 2022, Sharp bought it back and made it a wholly-owned subsidiary.
