Taiwan’s large-sized flat panel sector is expected to post only mild quarter-on-quarter growth this quarter, despite having left behind the first three months’ slow-season effect, a government report said on Friday.
The report, released by the Industry and Technology Intelligence Services (ITIS), said output growth would also be limited because some flat screen makers have shifted part of their large-sized panel capacity into producing small and medium-sized displays.
Large-sized panels refer to screens 10-inches or larger and are used in TVs, notebook computers and desktop computer monitors.
Taiwan’s large-sized panel output is expected to total NT$164.8 billion (US$5.56 billion) in the second quarter, up about 8.7 percent from the NT$151.6 billion in output posted in the first quarter.
The report, prepared by the Industrial Technology Research Institute on behalf of the ITIS, said screen prices rose US$1-US$2 per unit from March due to buyers’ restocking.
Pricing growth for 26-inch, 32-inch and 40-inch TV screens, the mainstay products of the sector, has also been strong since the beginning of this quarter, the report said.
However, the report added that the rebound in prices may be short-lived because of the adverse effects on demand of a fragile global economic recovery and rising concerns over the eurozone debt crisis.
During the April to June period, Chimei Innolux Corp (奇美電子) and AU Optronics Corp (AUO, 友達光電) are expected to benefit from shipments of 39-inch and 50-inch TV panels to boost second quarter sales, the ITIS said.
In terms of small and medium-sized screens, output for the second quarter of this year is expected to fall 1.5 percent from a quarter earlier to NT$44.5 billion on sluggish demand, the report said.
The output of high-tech organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels by producers in Taiwan is expected to reach NT$1.55 billion in the second quarter, slightly up from NT$1.54 billion recorded in the first quarter due to AUO’s shipments of active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) screens, the report added.
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