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LG.Philips LCD Co.'s fourth-quarter profit rose nearly tenfold, as strong holiday sales of flat-panel TVs built around the company's liquid-crystal displays helped fuel a cyclical upswing that began in early 2005.

The Seoul-based company, which is battling crosstown rival Samsung Electronics Co. to be the world's largest maker of LCD screens, reported net profit of 328 billion won, or $333.1 million, based on Korean accounting standards. Executives suggested first-quarter profit could be slightly smaller because of seasonal factors -- demand for LCD panels is typically weaker after the holiday season -- and greater depreciation costs associated with the opening of a new factory.

But their outlook was generally upbeat, reinforcing investors' belief that the LCD industry hasn't reached the peak of its latest price and profit cycle.

LG.Philips's American depositary shares were down 9.2%, or $2.01, at $19.77 in 4 p.m. composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday. The company reported its performance after regular stock trading ended in Seoul.

LG.Philips's fourth-quarter marked its first year-to-year increase in quarterly profit since the second quarter of 2004, when its profit peaked at 701 billion won. LG.Philips's net profit was 35 billion won in the fourth quarter of 2004, when the company was at the bottom of a seven-month downturn. Revenue in the latest quarter rose 53% to 2.96 trillion won.

Adjusted for U.S. accounting standards, LG.Philips earned 359.7 billion won in the fourth quarter, compared with 55.5 billion won a year earlier.

The company was lifted by continuing growth in sales of LCD panels for TVs, which are bigger, more expensive and more profitable than the panels used in computers and cellphones. Screens for TVs accounted for 34% of the company's revenue in the quarter, up from 29% in the third quarter and 15% a year earlier. That shift pushed the share of revenue from screens for desktop and notebook computers lower, to 62% in the latest period from 67% in the third quarter and 80% a year earlier.

Despite the seasonal weakness that typically characterizes first- quarter business, LG.Philips executives forecast sequential growth in panel shipments, based on glass area, because of soaring demand for flat-panel TVs. About 70% of flat-panel TVs use LCD panels; the rest use a different technology called plasma displays. TV manufacturers expect global sales of flat-panel TVs to rise to about 40 million this year from about 22 million last year.

LG.Philips said it expects its 2006 capital spending to reach 4.2 trillion won, slightly below the 4.4 trillion it spent in 2005, and said its board has approved spending 435 billion won to begin construction of its eighth factory.