Makers of small and medium-sized liquid-crystal-display (LCD) panels around the world are expected to post revenue declines this year as prices fall amidst a supply glut, market researcher DisplaySearch said.
Revenues for suppliers of the panels, which are used in consumer electronics such as mobile phones, are expected to slide 5 percent to US$16.6 billion this year, compared to US$17 billion last year, the Austin, Texas-based researcher predicted.
Global LCD suppliers saw a lukewarm 2 percent annual increase in revenues last year.
"We expect that small and medium-sized LCDs will continue to face pricing pressure and a market oversupply," DisplaySearch analyst Kevin Liao (廖顯杰) said at the annual flat-panel-display forum in Taipei on Friday.
Last year, the average LCD sales price plunged 23 percent to US$15.8 from US$20 in 2005. LCD panels for portable DVD players were among those hit the hardest, with prices dropping almost 40 percent.
Total shipments could increase 20 percent annually to 12 billion units this year, compared to a 40 percent annual expansion last, Liao projected. LCD shipments reached 10 billion last year.
However, signs have emerged that LCD prices are stabilizing, DisplaySearch said early this month.
Prices for handset screens began to reach equilibrium last month at between US$5.4 to US$10.6 per unit, the researcher said.
AU Optronics Corp (
"Supplies of 7-inch panels used in digital photo frames are tight. This has never been seen before," AU Optronics vice president Hsiung Hui (熊暉) said at an investor's conference on April 24.
DisplaySearch's Liao said he expected tight supplies of the 7-inch panels to extend into next quarter primarily on strong demand from China.
Digital photo frames and Ultra Mobile PCs would be the new drivers for the LCD sector this year, Liao said.
As for the near future, flexible displays could become another growth area for panel makers, he said.
The flexible display market is projected to increase to US$5.9 billion by 2010 and to US$12 billion by 2015, South Korea-based market researcher Displaybank said.
LG Philips LCD Co, the world's No.2 maker of LCD panels, yesterday said it had developed the world's first flexible color e-paper display, which is the size of an A4 sheet of paper.
In Taiwan, Prime View International Co (
The company said it planned to unveil more flexible displays this summer for a wide-range of applications including handsets, MP3 players and e-paper.
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