Taiwan makers among world's top 5 TFT-LCD panel suppliers in Q3

Taipei, Dec. 11, 2003 (CENS)--Taiwan's AU Optronics Corp. (AUO) ranked as the world's third-largest supplier of thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panels in the third quarter of the year, while Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp. (CMO) took the fourth place and Chuanghwa Picture Tubes Ltd. (CPT) the fifth, according to DisplaySearch, an international market research organization.

The three Taiwanese makers together commanded a combined 29.4% share of the global market for FTF-LCD panels in the third quarter. Taking into account the shipment volumes of another two major large-sized TFT-LCD panel makers, Quanta Display Inc. and HannStar Display Corp., Taiwan accounted for 34.9% of the global TFT-LCD panel supply in the said period.

Statistics released by DisplaySearch, a global leader in flat panel display (FPD) market research and consulting, showed that the third-quarter global large-sized TFT-LCD panel supply volume reached 27.67 million units, up 16% from the second quarter and a record quarterly high. Due to the continuing strong demand from downstream makers, the research company predicted that the panel shipment volume in the fourth quarter would reach 28.2 million units.

The average price for large-sized panels rose 7% in the third quarter to about US$242 due to the panel supply shortage, and the figure is expected to jump further to US$271 in the fourth quarter. Some industry analysts attributed the rising panel price to not only strong market demand but also the product mix of more larger-sized panel models.

In the first quarter next year, DisplaySearch founder and president Ross Young predicted, the total revenue of global panel suppliers would grow to about US$8.4 billion and the average panel price rise to US$290 per unit, a new high since the first quarter of 2001. The president also pointed out that the profit margins of panel makers are expected to surge further in the fourth quarter this year and the first quarter next year as a result of decreased production costs rendered from new-generation panel facilities.

DisplaySearch Taiwan president Chien-Erh (CE) Wang said the global panel supply shortage is expected to ease a little in the first quarter of 2004 as most major local panel makers will increase their production capacity and boost non-defect rates.

Wang added, however, that the supply of color filters would still suffer a shortage in the first quarter next year, undermining the capacity utilization rates of local panel suppliers. He stressed that the LCD TV panel prices are expected to move downward after March next year as panel makers gradually move their such production to new-generation facilities.

According to DisplaySearch, AUO remained the No.3 supplier in the third quarter with an 11.8% global market. The company's third-quarter shipments of panels for LCD TVs posted an a sharp annual growth of 67% and those for notebook computers and LCD monitors rose 16% and 13%, respectively.

CMO was the world's No. 4 supplier of large-sized TFT-LCD panels in the third quarter with a 10% share of the global market.

With product non-defect rate rapidly boosted to 93.1% at its 4.5th-generation panel plant, CPT enjoyed a 40% shipment volume growth in the third quarter from the previous, the highest growth for the period among all global counterparts. CPT was the fifth-largest panel supplier in the third quarter with a 7.6% global market share, DisplaySearch said.

Global Market Share and Growth Recorded by TFT-LCD Panel Suppliers in Q3, 2003
Suppliers	Global Share		Q3 Growth Rate
	Q2	Q3	Quarter-on quarter	Year-on-year
LG.Philips LCD	21.2%	21.5%	17%	85%
Samsung	18.9%	20.0%	22%	80%
AUO	11.9%	11.8%	15%	60%
CMO*	10.1%	10.0%	15%	58%
CPT	6.3%	7.6%	40%	68%
Other	31.7%	29.2%	7%	26%
Total	100.0%	100.0%	16%	64%

*: Including International Display Technology Inc. (IDT) of Japan