James Delahunty
17 May 2007 9:34
LG.Philips LCD Co. Ltd. has revealed it expects prices of its TV panels to fall at a much slower rate this year on stronger demand and limited output growth. The industry has suffered from tumbling prices and oversupply of LCD TVs since last year but is finally expecting to see a cyclical upturn in the second half as low price tags encourage consumers to buy larger TVs.
"TV panel prices in March-April were likely the lowest throughout the year," Champ Shin, vice president in charge of TV panel sales, said at the Reuters Global Technology, Media and Telecoms Summit. He expects the decline for the entire of 2007 to be no worse than 15%, compared with 30% last year.
"The prices will likely be stable for the time being. In the strong season, there's even some chance for a (price) rise," said Shin. reported its fourth consecutive quarterly loss in the January-March quarter but expects that in the current quarter it will turn around to a profit. "We are confident of a monthly break-even in the second quarter," Shin said.
LCD is increasing its share in the market for 40-inch-and-larger TV sets in a price war with plasma display panels (PDP). Plasma makers still have an advantage in the 50-inch-and-bigger category however, where few LCD makers supply.
Source:
Reuters