The picture on flat screens has seldom looked so bright. The world’s biggest panel makers, having suffered from years of big price falls, are selling more screens, more profitably. LG Display, the second biggest panel maker, on Wednesday unveiled a sixfold increase in second quarter operating profits year on year to $884m.

Taiwanese manufacturers, which make panels for branded TV and computer companies, are also expected to report steep rises in second quarter profits this month. Screen prices continue to fall – LG Display saw a 5 per cent dip in the average selling price quarter on quarter – but less rapidly than before. Revenue growth is strong. In the first five months of the year, shipments of TV panels surged 50 per cent year on year to 39.3m units, according to Wits View consultancy. Sales of PC monitors were up 25 per cent to 84.6m.