LG Display 's July-September operating profit rose to its highest level in nearly two years, backed by strong demand for television panels as well as the release of Apple's new iPhone models. The LCD maker said LCD shipment volume for the third quarter rose from a year earlier though the average selling price for panels fell in annual terms.

The company reported a 21.8 percent rise in operating profit to 474 billion won (279.8 million pounds). Revenue fell 0.5 percent on year to 6.5 trillion won.

Operating profit in the third quarter of 2014 was driven by increased shipments of small- and medium-size panels such as high-resolution panels for mobile devices, and by an increased share of large-size panels due to the trend towards larger size TVs. In addition, seasonal demand growth and a favorable pricing trend in large-size panels improved the results.

"LG Display has been focusing on expanding its profit base through technology differentiation for each product segment and on strengthening its market position in the premium market," said Sang-Beom Han, CEO of LG Display. "We will continue to generate profits with innovative technologies and products that will lead the market."

LG Display said it shipped a total of 9.65 million square meters of net display area in the hird quarter of 2014, an increase of 3% quarter-on-quarter. Average selling price per square meter (ASP/m2) increased by 7% to USD 658 due to increased shipments of small- and medium-size displays with higher average selling prices per area. TFT-LCD panels for TVs, mobile devices, monitors, tablets, and notebook PCs accounted for 42%, 19%, 17%, 12%, and 10% respectively on a revenue basis in the third quarter of 2014.

The company expects fourth-quarter profit to improve sequentially, forecasting mid single-digit percentage rate panel shipment growth from July-September.

"LG Display anticipates display area shipments to increase by a mid single digit percentage given that the fourth quarter is the peak season. With overall prices expected to remain stable, we anticipate profits to improve sequentially with a larger share of shipments in the small- and medium-size panels which have higher prices per area," said Don Kim, CFO of LG Display.