AUO's Capacity Utilization to Hit 100% in 3Q: Vice Chairman Chen

Taipei, June 22, 2010 (CENS)--H.B. Chen, vice chairman of major thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panel maker AU Optronics Corp. (AUO), recently claimed that capacity utilization will be 100 percent by the third quarter, according to the Chinese-language economic daily Economic Daily News (EDN).

Chen pointed out that AUO expects to smoothly achieve the second-quarter shipment goal of large-sized panels by posting a 10% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) growth. Due to healthy inventory and major brands' active pull-in moves, he added, AUO's capacity utilization is expected to rise from about 90% in the second quarter to about 100% in the third quarter.

Industry insiders pointed out that major international TV brands are trying hard to achieve shipment goals by boosting market shares, adding that, when TV brands begin to pull-in panels, the panel market will then feel stronger demand that might reverse falling panel prices in the second quarter to an uptrend in the third quarter.

L.J. Chen, AUO's CEO and president, said that panel-price trends have to be further observed, but is sure that his company's shipments in the third quarter will improve over that in the second quarter.

According to H.B. Chen, demand for PC or LCD TV panels in China, the U.S., and Southeast Asia etc. remain strong, despite some worries about the debt woes in Europe, with demand for cellphone-panel being encouraging.

AUO executive vice president Paul Peng says that the unstable euro exchange rate will delay brands' key-parts pull-in moves, with further lowering parts inventories to trigger even stronger pull-in momentum in the third quarter.