HannStar reports reduced losses for Q2

HannStar Display Corp (瀚宇彩晶), one of Taiwan's leading suppliers of flat screens, yesterday reported a NT$2.91 billion (US$91 million) net loss in the second quarter, or NT$0.5 per share, narrowed from a NT$4.5 billion loss in the first quarter.

The company attributed the better-than-expected second-quarter performance to its cost-saving strategies, rising average selling prices (ASP) and adjustments to its product mix.

HannStar president Davie Chou (周定輝) said at an investors' conference that the company managed to reduce its overall production costs by 11 percent last quarter.

For the whole year, the company aims to lower overall production costs by more than 20 percent, Chou said. During the first six months through June, the company reduced its production costs by around 18 percent, he added.

For the first half of the year, the company's net loss was NT$7.41 billion, or NT$1.33 per share.

Chou said the company hopes to break even this quarter, as its ASP is expected to rise at a low single-digit percentage-point rate and shipments of larger panels are expected to increase at a high single-digit percentage rate.

Sales in the second quarter rose 23 percent to NT$15.98 billion from a year ago, up 41 percent from NT$11.34 billion in the first quarter.

HannStar's shipments of 19-inch monitor panels reached 534,000 panels last month.