In Japan, we are making quite good progress this year. We began selling domestic LED lamps via Japanese retailers, including Big Camera Inc, this year.
TT: Does your company have any business targets for next year?
Yu: As we phase out of traditional LCD monitor markets, this year’s revenue will slide to NT$5 billion from last year’s NT$6 billion.
We expect revenue to grow again by about 2 percent next year.
LCD TVs accounted for 70 percent of the company’s total revenue this year. We aim to sell 200,000 slim-screens TVs next year, up about 11 percent from this year’s 180,000 units. Revenue growth is slower than unit growth because of the rapid decline in the price of TVs.
TT: What are your thoughts on the overall Taiwanese slim-screen TV market?
Yu: We expect flat-panel TV sales to reach 1.2 million units this year and to grow [about 8 percent year-on-year] to about 1.3 million units next year. The growth will be mostly fueled by the first big-wave of replacement demand since the uptake of LCD TVs back four or five years ago.
Those LCD TV sets are near the end of their life cycle. In addition, people in Taiwan are now buying two or three slim-screen TVs for their homes.
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