Tech giant LG Electronics has announced its withdrawal from the solar panel market due to rising material costs, supply chain constraints and intensifying price competition. “This decision comes as uncertainties in the global solar panel industry continue to increase due to a variety of contributing factors, including intensifying price competition and rising raw material costs,” said know the direction of the South Korean conglomerate.
LG’s photovoltaic business thus joins the company’s smartphone business as a discontinued business in recent months. As a reminder, LG threw in the towel on the smartphone market last April, believing that it could not compete with other smartphone brands on the market. Before closing shop, the smartphone business had recorded 23 consecutive quarters of losses. What justify this drastic decision.
The decision to leave the photovoltaic market was approved by the board of directors on Monday evening, said the staff of LG. LG’s solar panel production will begin to decline next month, the company said, and the business will officially shut down at the end of June.
Focus on energy storage
Speaking to existing customers, the company says it will continue to supply solar panels for “years to come”. The company did not specify the number of years of support that will be provided.
LG adds that it will reallocate company resources to other “growth area” products like energy storage systems and home energy management solutions. Rising material costs and supply chain constraints have negatively impacted LG’s operations. The effects of the current shortage are not limited to its solar panel business, however, as the company’s total operating profit in the fourth quarter of 2021 fell 21% year-on-year.
By announcing these poor figures during the announcement of its recent results, the management of LG indicated that it fears that the problems which currently affect the technological giant will persist in 2022. variants of Covid-19, persistent supply chain issues, and rising raw material prices and logistics expenses,” LG senior management said.
Source: ZDNet.com