The penetration rate of LED backlights in LCD TVs is expected to grow to 40 percent in 2013 from 3 percent this year, with TV makers including market leader Samsung Electronics Co planning to launch more LED TVs next year, market researcher DisplaySearch said.
In 2014, the penetration of LED backlights in LCD TV panels could exceed 50 percent, surpassing the use of cold-cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFL), the Austin, Texas-based research house said in a report last month.
“Backlight units for LCD TVs are expected to be the next growth opportunity for the LED industry,” DisplaySearch said in the report, adding that “leading brands such as Samsung, LG, Sharp and Philips all expected to mass produce LED backlight LCD TVs in 2010.”
Shipments of LED backlights used in LCD TV panels could quadruple to 15.1 million units next year, from 3.6 million units this year, pushing use of the sleeker and power-saving LED TV panels up to 10 percent the same year, the research house forecast.
Samsung said it sold 500,000 LED TVs in the three months following their launch in March, helped by strong demand in the US and Europe.
The fast uptake of LED backlights in PCs and TVs will benefit local LED makers such as Taiwan’s top LED chipmaker, Epistar Corp (晶電), a report from Taipei-based Capital Securities (群益證券) said.
Demand for LED chips may grow at least threefold this year to 7.9 billion units from 1.73 billion units, Capital Securities said in the report. Next year, LED chip demand may expand further to 17.7 billion units, it said.
Epistar has said faster-than-expected uptake of LED TVs and netbooks outfitted with LED panels caused a supply glut since March and it expected strong demand to help increase revenues by a double-digit percentage this quarter from last quarter.
The nation’s major LED chipmakers, Epistar and Formosa Epitaxy Inc (璨圓), may see their revenues grow more than 28 percent next year to NT$13.97 billion (US$426 million) and NT$2.21 billion respectively, from NT$10.88 billion and NT$1.72 billion this year, Capital Securities said.
DisplaySearch said shipments of LED backlights for computers and TVs could hit 434.8 million units in 2013, compared with 84.9 million this year, making LED backlights the most common light source, accounting for 54 percent of all LCD computer and TV panels.
Shares of Epistar fell 1.86 percent to NT$89.6 on Friday, while Formosa Epitaxy closed unchanged at NT$36.25.
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