Chimei Innolux Corp (奇美電子), the nation’s top LCD panel maker, yesterday said revenue grew 19.6 percent to NT$37.29 billion (US$1.27 billion) last month from January’s NT$31.2 billion, joining local peers in reporting better revenue.
Shipments of PC and TV LCD panels increased 26.1 percent month-on-month to 11.09 million units last month, compared with 8.79 million units in January, according to a company statement. Shipments of smaller panels used in handsets and tablets expanded 22.4 percent to 30.59 million units from 24.99 million.
Compared with a year ago, last month’s revenue contracted 0.19 percent from NT$37.36 billion.
Prices for LCD TV panels have been stabilizing over the past four-and-a-half months, as panel makers cut production to ease oversupply, which has caused losses for those suppliers, according to market researcher NPD DisplaySearch.
LCD panel companies had been planning to hike prices for 29-inch, 39-inch and 50-inch TV panels anyway, the researcher said. A mainstream 32 inch TV panel was unchanged at US$125 per unit in the first half of this month, from November last year.
On Thursday, the nation’s No. 2 LCD panel manufacturer, AU Optronics Corp (AUO, 友達光電), posted 28.8 percent growth for last month’s revenue to NT$27.96 billion, from NT$21.71 billion in January, mainly helped by a 30 percent growth in shipments of PC and TV panels.
Smaller flat-panel company Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd (中華映管) said revenue grew 22.15 percent to NT$3.4 billion last month, from NT$3.27 billion in the prior month, with shipments of PC panels up 66 percent at a monthly pace.
Hannstar Display Corp (瀚宇彩晶), however, said its revenue slipped 4.1 percent to NT$2.63 billion last month from NT$2.74 billion in January. Shipments of PC panels slumped 32.1 percent month-on-month.
Separately, AUO said yesterday it planned to recruit 2,500 engineers to develop more advanced touch sensor technologies — such as -active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) — and expand its solar module manufacturing and solar power project services.
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