SEOUL, KOREA - LG Siltron has decided to withdraw from the photovoltaic wafer business that has weighed down the company's overall performance. According to investment banking sources on May 23, the LG Group company held a board of directors meeting on the 22nd and voted to pull out of the business entirely.
In addition, the company will make adjustments in its sapphire ingot business to focus more on 6-inch ingot production lines rather than low-margin 4-inch lines.
LG Siltron began manufacturing the solar cell wafers since 2009 when the solar power business was gaining attention. Its annual output increased to 18.16 million units in 2011 from 10.34 million in 2010. As the worldwide demand for wafers plummet since last year, however, the company's output has declined to a level of 3 million in the first quarter of this year.
Hwang Joon-ho, analyst with Daewoo Securities, said, "Until Chinese solar cell makers complete their restructuring, the photovoltaic wafer business can't expect to turn to the black. Korea's major conglomerates that want to nurture solar power business as a new growth engine must wait and reduce their speed of investment until the downturn is over."