Expecting surging demand for liquid crystal display (LCD) screens this year, Netherlands-based Royal Philips Electronics NV is hoping to boost sales of its LCD monitors, which are expected to grow 45 percent globally, a company official said yesterday.
"We hope to increase shipments of our LCD monitors from 4 million units last year to 6 million or even 7 million units in 2004 globally, if the panel's supply is stable," Cor Saris, senior vice president and CEO of Philips' multimedia displays division, told an annual press gathering yesterday.
The shortage of liquid-crystal panels used to make computer monitors, laptop screens and flat-screen televisions has tightened since the third quarter, resulting in limited production by flat-screen manufacturers.
To the manufacturers' disappointment, the situation is expected to persist until the fourth quarter of this year.
According to a report issued yesterday by the Topology Research Institute (拓墣產業研究所), panel supplies will still fail to meet the demand this year until the fourth quarter.
In addition, components for making LCD monitors such as color filters and glass substrate will be tight throughout the year, the report said.
Philips, though it has a headquarters for multimedia display products in Taiwan and cooperates with several LCD panel and IC suppliers, will also bear the brunt of the shortage.
"I think prices for small-sized LCD monitors, meaning 15 inches and below, will still peg to the current range due to the tight supply," Saris said.
"Prices of large-sized ones, namely 19 inches and above, however, will start to decline by 10 to 15 percent this year due to the comparatively low demand," Saris said.
Saris' estimate is similar to the institute's, which pointed out that the price of a 19-inch LCD monitor will drop by up to 7.9 percent in the fourth quarter of this year compared to the same period last year.
The LCD monitor penetration ratio will rise from 43 percent last year to 59 percent this year, with 17-inch units taking the lead, according to the institute.
Besides regular LCD monitors that are specifically for personal computers, Philips has been putting effort into developing multimedia displays that can be used to watch TV, play games or conduct videoconferencing.
Furthermore, over the next five years, slim, flat and large will be the key features in LCD product development, he added.
David Hsieh (
"But this is not to say that pricing is the key ? more consumers now are willing to pay more for high-end IT products," Hsieh said.
Philips' monitor business has achieved No. 4 worldwide last year with a revenue of 2 billion euros. In Asia, the company ranks third with a 10 percent market share in LCD monitors, Saris said.
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