Amtran's Single-week Shipment of LCD TVs to U.S. Hits New High

Taipei, Nov. 27, 2009 (CENS)--Thanks to successful promotion by its U.S.-based sales arm Vizio, Amtran Technology Co., Ltd., a leading Taiwanese TV maker, saw its single-week shipment of LCD (liquid crystal display) TVs to the U.S. market hit a new high of 86,000 units in the week before this year's Thanksgiving Day, very likely to achieve a shipment goal of 4.2-4.5 million units for the entire year, according to company sources.

Scottie Chiu, the firm's spokesperson, indicated that the shinning shipment during the week is attributable to Vizio's promotion strategy of cutting selling prices of own-brand LCD TVs by 10-15%. The strategy has proved effective in tapping the Thanksgiving boom and driving up sales in the U.S. market.

Of the 86,000 LCD TVs sold in the week, double the figure of 43,000 units a year earlier, 80% were 32, 37 and 42-inch models and 15% 46-inch models. This indicates that LCD TVs raging from 32 to 42 inches in screen size are still the mainstream in the U.S. market. After posting the banner shipment, Amtran projects its fourth-quarter shipment to reach 1.2 million units.

Benefiting from Vizio's increasingly brand recognition among consumers in the U.S., Amtran scored net profits of NT$533 million (US$16.4 million at US$1: NT$32.5) in the third quarter of this year, the second-highest level ever seen and bringing aggregate net profits for the first nine months of the year to NT$1.467 billion (US$45.13 million), sharply soaring 102% from a year earlier.

In addition to the U.S. market, the firm has actively explored China's LCD TV market and already won contract orders from the top-three Chinese brands, which have been filled since the beginning of the fourth quarter. Hopefully, the firm will further push up its annual shipment of the products to seven million units in 2010.

Besides, the firm has already teamed up with LGD of Korea and set up a joint venture, Suzhou Raken Technology Co., Ltd. as part of its efforts to continually explore Asia- Pacific and Latin American markets.