Innolux Corp (群創光電), the world’s No. 3 LCD panel maker, yesterday posted a 34.7 percent monthly rise in revenue last month due to an increase in television panel shipments.
Market researcher NPD DisplaySearch attributed the growth in shipments to high inventory buildup demand from Chinese TV set makers.
Innolux joined local rival AU Optronics Corp (AUO, 友達光電) in reporting strong revenue growth for last month. Innolux is the biggest LCD television panel supplier for Chinese TV makers, including TCL Corp, Hisense Electric Co (海信) and Skyworth Group Co (創惟).
Revenue grew to NT$44.44 billion (US$1.47 billion) last month, compared with NT$33 billion in February, the highest level in six months.
The figure represents a 9 percent increase from the NT$40.76 billion posted a year ago.
That brought Innolux’s first-quarter revenue to NT$116.78 billion, down 9.9 percent from NT$129.6 billion in the fourth quarter of last year, a company statement showed.
The figure reflects a 6.9 percent annual increase from the NT$109.24 billion the company recorded last year.
Innolux had expected a weak first quarter due to negative seasonal factors.
The company’s shipments of LCD panels used in PCs and TVs surged 36.7 percent to 12.33 million units last month from 9.02 million units in the previous month.
In the first quarter, shipments of PC and TV screens fell sequentially at a faster-than-expected rate of 15.7 percent to 32.41 million units from 38.45 million units, as demand slackened because of excessive inventory.
Innolux had expected a slightly smaller decline.
The rebound last month occurred as Innolux’s factory utilization rate jumped to 89 percent from February’s 84 percent becuase Chinese TV makers had increased purchases of TV screens in preparation for a holiday shopping season, NPD DisplaySearch said.
Smaller LCD panel makers Chungwa Picture Tubes Ltd (中華映管) and HannStar Display Corp (瀚宇彩晶) also reported growth in their respective revenue last month.
Chungwa Picture said that its revenue grew 25.1 percent to NT$4.44 billion last month from NT$3.55 billion a month ago, after shipments of flat panels used in mobile devices saw a monthly increase of 11 percent to 43.4 million units and those of LCD panels used in computers inched up 0.2 percent to 193,000 units.
HannStar Display said its revenue increased 25.5 percent month-on-month to NT$2.65 billion, although the figure dropped 11.8 percent from a year ago.
HannStar’s shipments of small and medium-sized panels last month shrank 10.8 percent month-on-month to 29.51 million units from 33.1 million units, while its shipments of flat panels used in PCs plunged 37.4 percent to 57,000 units from 91,000 units the previous month.
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