Mobile phone displays benefit from emerging markets; units up 30 percent Q/Q in Q2’09

AUSTIN, USA: After hitting bottom in Q1’09, mobile display shipments for Q2’09 reached 360 million, up 30 percent Q/Q and 3 percent Y/Y. Revenues were up 29 percent Q/Q to $2.93 billion, but down 5 percent Y/Y.

According to the DisplaySearch Quarterly Mobile Phone Shipment and Forecast Report, the saturated Western European and North American markets are expected to see subscriber growth of less than 10 percent Y/Y in 2009, while emerging markets like India and China are driving growth. These booming regions had a higher global system for mobile communication (GSM) penetration ratio.

“The global economy is slowly recovering, fueling growth in mobile phone shipments in Q2’09,” noted Calvin Hsieh, DisplaySearch Research Director. “Despite this, total 2009 mobile phone demand in North America and Western Europe is still less than 2008, an impact of the recession. Looking ahead, we expect it will be a better year in 2010, with worldwide mobile phone growth of 15 percent and emerging markets playing an increasingly vital role in shipments.”

Fig. 1: Mobile Phone Shipments by RegionSource: DisplaySearch Quarterly Mobile Phone Shipment and Forecast Report

Unable to penetrate emerging markets, Nokia’s market share continues to decline, falling from 31.7 percent in Q1’09 to 25.5 percent in Q2’09. Nokia was unsuccessful in catching up with GSM growth rates in emerging markets. White-box handsets mainly produced in China also captured nearly 20 percent market share from brand names.

Fig. 2: Mobile Phone Market Share by Supplier
Source: DisplaySearch Quarterly Mobile Phone Shipment and Forecast Report

With touch functionality, higher resolution and larger displays (3.5”+) for smart phones, active matrix displays are growing as a share of the mobile phone market.

Taking advantage of its cost-effectiveness, a-Si TFT LCD reached 46.6 percent share of the market. LTPS TFT LCDs grew 25.3 percent Q/Q, maintaining a 21.6 percent share. AMOLED displays capitalized on high-end devices such as Samsung Anycall, growing 54.5 percent Q/Q with a 1.3 percent share.

China remains a critical region for both handset manufacturing and demand. Local panel manufacturers have successfully maintained market share, accounting for 20 percent of the overall demand in 2009. The country also produced 50.4 percent CSTN panels, especially BYD, for the handsets which were mainly made for emerging markets.