AU Optronics Corp (AUO, 友達光電), the nation’s No. 2 LCD panel maker, yesterday reported that revenue last month was little changed from August’s, while quarterly revenue slightly surpassed analysts’ forecasts.
Sales last month reached NT$35.62 billion (US$1.17 billion), up 0.3 percent from August’s NT$35.51 billion, but down 3.5 percent from NT$36.9 billion in the same month last year.
Third-quarter revenue climbed 4.75 percent sequentially to NT$106.89 billion on the back of higher prices, from NT$102.04 billion in the second quarter.
Last quarter’s revenue edged JPMorgan’s estimate of NT$106.6 billion and consensus forecasts of NT$105 billion, according to a report it released last week.
On an annual basis, sales edged down 0.18 percent from NT$107.08 billion during the third quarter last year, AU Optronics said.
Revenue turned out better than expected because of the 2.2 percent increase in PC and TV panel shipments to 29.48 million units last quarter from 28.9 million units in the previous quarter, it said. The company had forecast that shipments would be flat or decline slightly because of capacity constraints.
AU Optronics predicted in July that factory utilization would reach 95 percent last quarter and overall TV panel supply would be tight, driven by seasonal strong demand from TV vendors, which were expected to build inventory ahead of China’s national holiday shopping season this month and the Christmas shopping spree in the US and Europe.
Market researcher NPD DisplaySearch yesterday said that prices for mainstream 32-inch TV panels rose 2 percent to US$90 in the first half of this month from two weeks ago.
“Overall, the TV panel supply still cannot fulfill demand and panel makers continue to hike prices on many sizes in October,” the researcher said in a survey released yesterday.
However, NPD DisplaySearch said that panel makers would be under growing pressure to maintain profitability during the year-end promotional season, as some leading panel manufacturers cut prices to gain market share.
JPMorgan said it expects AU Optronics to report better operating margins for last quarter, rising to 7.2 percent from 3.8 percent in the second quarter and 3.2 percent a year ago. However, AU Optronics’ profit margin could shrink to 5 percent after panel prices start falling, it said.
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