South Korean TV manufacturers are expected to fare better in the second quarter compared with the dismal previous three months, as a price decline in liquid crystal display panels will boost their profits, a report showed Wednesday.

The price of a 42-inch full high-definition LCD panel stood at $145 at the end of March, according to the latest report by market tracker DisplaySearch.

The report forecast the price to fall by $4 in the second quarter, another $6 in the third quarter and an additional $2 by the end of the year.

The price of a 40-inch ultra high-definition LCD panel is also estimated to drop by about the same amount as the 42-inch ones, it said.

The decline of LCD panel prices is a boon for South Korean TV makers, led by top player Samsung Electronics Co. and its home rival LG Electronics Inc., as lower costs will help them turn around from the recent lackluster performances, the report said.

Samsung's consumer electronics division posted an operating loss of 140 billion won ($128 million) in the first quarter. LG also saw its home entertainment business suffer a 6.2 billion-won operating loss in the same period.

The dim results last quarter were not only caused by the rise of LCD panel prices in 2014, they were also hurt by the sharp depreciation of currencies in emerging markets, such as the Russian ruble.

Samsung said last month that there was about 800 billion won worth of "adverse effects from foreign exchange rates."

Samsung and LG said they will push ahead with their newest models to recover from the weak results in the past quarter.

Samsung will expand the release of its latest quantum-dot-based Super UHD TV to other countries after it first rolled it out in Korea and the United States in the beginning of the year. 

LG said it will focus on its premium lineup and plans to unveil its ultra organic light-emitting diode TV in North America and Europe in the second quarter. (Yonhap)