AU Optronics Corp (友達光電), the nation’s No. 2 LCD panel maker, yesterday said sales last month edged up 1.2 percent from a month ago to NT$41.15 billion (US$1.29 billion), as rising prices offset declines in shipments.
In March, the Hsinchu-based panel maker made NT$40.67 billion in sales, according to a company statement.
On an annual basis that represented nearly 70 percent growth as demand for electronics recovers from last year’s economic slump.
Last month, shipments of flat panels used in computers and televisions slid 1.1 percent to 9.66 million units, from a record high of 9.77 million in March.
AU Optronics forecast that prices for PC and TV panels would be flat or rise only slightly this quarter from last quarter, while shipments would grow 10 percent quarter-on-quarter.
“The slight decline is mostly in line with our expectation as the second quarter is a traditionally slack season,” said Corwin Lee (李秋緯), a flat-panel industry analyst with research house Topology Research Institute (拓墣產業研究所).
Shipments could spike next month as PC makers start building up inventories for the second half of the year, Lee said, adding that AU Optronics could find it difficult to reach its shipment target.
Market researcher DisplaySearch expected prices for panels used in LCD monitors and TVs to fall as demand weakens in the current quarter.
Prices for mainstream 32-inch TV panels fell in the first half of this month by 0.96 percent to US$208 per unit from the second half of last month, while prices for 40-inch panels fell 1.5 percent to US$335 per unit, DisplaySearch’s statistics showed.
The price of a 19-inch LCD monitor panel is expected to fall 1.12 percent to US$84 from two weeks ago.
Smaller rival Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd (中華映管) said sales fell 6.8 percent last month to NT$7.7 billion from NT$8.27 billion in March, after shipments of PC and TV panels fell 8.2 percent month-on-month to 2.28 million units, according to a press release from the company.
However, sales last month increased by 91.2 percent year-on-year.
Bucking the downtrend, HannStar Display Corp (瀚宇彩晶), which mainly makes PC panels, said sales grew 9.68 percent to NT$5.81 billion last month, up from NT$5.3 billion in March.
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