AU Optronics expects strong demand

A huge LCD screen displays the face of a model at the the annual Flat-Panel-Display Taiwan trade show, which opened yesterday in the Taipei World Trade Center. PHOTO: CNA

AU Optronics Corp (友達光電), the world's third-largest supplier of flat panels, yesterday announced a brighter outlook for the highly-cyclical industry, saying its expects demand to be sustainable over the next six months.

"May is a fair month. Demand is not as weak as it used to be in the traditionally slow season in the second quarter ... That gives us reason to believe demand will be healthy in the second half," AU Optronics president Chen Hsuen-bin (陳炫彬) said.

Hsiung Hui (熊暉), an AU Optronics vice president, said that demand for screens used in computer monitors has not slowed down over the past few months, which has strengthened his view that supply and demand of liquid-crystal-display (LCD) screens would reach parity in the third quarter.

As for panel prices, Hsiung said prices would hold steady in the second half of the year.

Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp (奇美電子), the world's third-largest supplier of thin-film-transistor (TFT) LCD panels used in televisions, also felt the sizzling demand for its screens.

"Demand in the first half exceeded our expectations. Supply for 20-inch and 32-inch LCD panels for TVs is very tight," said Hsu Chun-hwa (許春華), a Chi Mei vice president.

Chi Mei Optoelectronics plans to hike prices of 32-inch TV screens by as much as US$10 per unit this month, Hsu said.

Chi Mei Optoelectronics said yesterday that sales last month rose almost 9 percent to NT$11.46 billion month-on-month. AU Optronics said on Tuesday that sales inched up around 3 percent last month to NT$15.38 billion from the previous month.

"It's true that we don't see any big problems for the industry now. Orders look fine. The industrial sentiment is turning positive for the industry leaders to turn around in the third quarter," said Benny Lo (盧志恆), an analyst with Primasia Securities.

AU Optronics and Chi Mei Optoelectronics offered their latest outlook for the industry on the sidelines of the annual Flat-Panel-Display Taiwan trade show, which opened yesterday in Taipei. The show will end on Saturday. The flat-panel-display trade show is the second largest of its kind, trailing the show in Yokohama, Japan.

Companies from around the globe are showcasing their latest technologies at 670 booths in the Taipei World Trade Center, according to the Photonics Industry and Technology Development Association (光電產業協會), one of the organizers.

Corning Inc, the world's top supplier of glass used in LCDs, and Japanese consumer-electronics manufacturer Seiko-Epson Corp, which joined the show for the first time this year, are among the 253 exhibitors, the organizer said.

Panel start-ups from China, such as SVA-NEC LCD Co (上海廣電) and Beijing Orient Electronics Technology Group (京東方), are still barred by the government from participating in the expo, the association said.

The number of booths booked by exhibitors surged to a historical high, representing growth of 25 percent compared with the 540 booths that were registered last year, it said.