LG Display's CEO said Thursday that the company had been unable to fulfill orders for displays used in Apple's iPad, but promised "without fail" to catch up with demand by Q2 2011.
Chief executive Kwon Young-soo explained that LG was currently running "at full capacity," but still experiencing production shortages of the iPad display. "Demand (from Apple) keeps growing and we can't meet it all."
LG is considering increased production for iPad products, but "overall supply is likely to remain tight until early next year," Kwon said. He then set a target of second quarter 2011 for LG to meet orders for the displays.
iPad demand has surpassed even Apple's own expectations. Tim Cook, Apple's Chief Operating Officer, admitted Tuesday that the company had been caught off guard by the high demand for the iPad. 3.27 million iPads were sold through the end of Apple's most recent financial quarter.
In spite of a backlog of iPad orders, Apple announced Monday that it would release the iPad in 9 more countries this Friday, fulfilling its goal to launch in these countries by the end of July.
In April, Apple announced that the international launch of the iPad would be delayed by one month. The Cupertino, Calif., company cited surprisingly strong demand as the cause of the delay. However, some analysts have pointed to LG's display shortages as a limiting factor in the production of the device.
According to Reuters' coverage of the LG executives' comments, "Apple may have to delay launches of the iPad for some countries due to tight component supplies and strong demand."
LG also announced Thursday that it was investing over $500 million in production of mobile phone and tablet sized displays. Last year, Apple prepaid $500 million to LG for a guaranteed 5-year supply of LCD screens for Macs and handheld products.