Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp (奇美電子), Taiwan’s second-largest liquid-crystal-display (LCD) maker, expects average selling prices (ASP) of panels to remain little changed through this month and next month.
“The demand is still strong so the ASP can keep stable in September and October,” Denis Chen (陳世賢), a spokesman for the Tainan-based company, said by telephone yesterday. “It is difficult for prices to keep going up, especially since they rose significantly in June and July, so if prices remain flat in August and September, it is good enough for the whole industry.”
Chi Mei’s sales rose 6.8 percent to NT$30.6 billion (US$938 million) last month from the previous month, the company reported on Tuesday.
The company maintains its third-quarter forecast in July for shipments to climb 15 percent to 20 percent from the previous three-month period, while prices will climb 10 percent to 15 percent, Chen said.
STRONGER
Chi Mei’s forecast of steady prices came after Corning Inc, the world’s biggest maker of glass for LCD panels, said on Thursday that its fourth-quarter orders would probably be stronger than forecast as sales of flat-screen televisions pick up in the US and Japan.
Global demand would probably equal the third quarter’s, Corning said in a statement on Thursday.
The Corning, New York-based company said it had not finished its fourth-quarter outlook.
Week-to-week results suggested back-to-school sales spurred demand for TVs, Corning said.
The company, led by chief executive officer Wendell Weeks, is contending with an economic slump that has sapped consumer spending, leading to an 18 percent sales decline last quarter. Prices would probably be little changed next quarter, Weeks said in the statement.
Corning also said that its plant in Shizuoka, Japan, which was damaged by an earthquake, is restarting production this month. Corning expects to book US$22 million in expenses to rebuild the site this quarter.
The damaged plant will cut sales by US$25 million in the third quarter, down from the company’s initial forecast of US$65 million. Corning ramped up production in Taiwan to offset the loss from Shizuoka.
SALES VOLUMES
Sales volumes at the wholly owned business will fall less than projected — by less than 5 percent in the third quarter from the previous quarter, compared with an earlier prediction of as much as 10 percent.
LCD TV unit sales increased 14 percent last month from a year earlier, the company said, citing data from NPD Group. In Japan, August unit sales rose 57 percent, according to independent researcher BCN.
Sales of US consumer electronics will fall 7.7 percent to US$164.9 billion this year from last year, according to the Consumer Electronics Association.
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