AU Optronics Corp (AUO, 友達光電) shares yesterday surged to a one-year high, with analysts predicting that an upward trend in panel prices would boost the chances of the nation’s No. 2 LCD panel maker switching back into the black this quarter.
AUO stocks rose 4.26 percent to NT$12.25 per share — outperforming the TAIEX’s 0.3 percent increase — representing its highest price since July 17 last year.
AUO was also one of the three most active stocks in the local stock market yesterday, with turnover totaling NT$2.55 billion (US$7.97 million), according to the Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp’s tally.
Shares of Innolux Corp (群創), the nation’s biggest LCD panel maker, soared 5.5 percent to NT$11.5 per share yesterday.
Samsung Electronics Co, the world’s largest TV vendor, and China’s major TV brands stocked up on TV panels from Taiwan’s AUO and Innolux and China’s BOE Technology Group (京東方) in the second quarter to minimize the risk of supply constraint, market researcher IHS Technology Inc said.
The increase in demand helped boost average prices of 32-inch TV panels by as much as 7.5 percent to US$57 as of last month, according to IHS pricing information.
“Overall, TV makers are increasingly concerned about the supply of panels, not just during the second and third quarters, but also next year, which will be determined by panel makers’ production strategies — which include plans to shut down factories,” the market researcher said.
In the first half of this month, prices of 32-inch TV panels climbed 3.6 percent from two weeks ago, market researcher TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said.
To cope with the year-end holiday shopping season, Samsung plans to buy 15.1 million units this quarter, an increase of 24 percent from last quarter’s 12.2 million units, the Chinese-language Commercial Times reported yesterday, citing IHS data.
China’s major TV brands are also expected to purchase about 19 million TV panels this quarter, an increase of about 10 percent from last quarter’s 17.95 million units, the report said.
As rising demand is likely to further boost panel prices, Capital Securities Corp (群益證券) expects AUO to post an operating profit in the current quarter, while Innolux might see another unprofitable quarter, according to a report released earlier this month.
AUO reported combined losses of NT$13.58 billion for the past two quarters.
Capital Securities retained its “neutral” rating on AUO and Innolux shares, given that signs of a full turnaround are unclear, the report said.
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