Taiwan LCD industry sales more than double in first quarter of 2010

TAIPEI, TAIWAN: Taiwan’s liquid-crystal display (LCD) industry, the world’s second largest, saw sales revenue more than double in the first quarter this year.

Taiwan’s LCD revenues surged 125 percent to NT$273 billion ($8.7 billion) from NT$121 billion in the same period a year ago as consumers started buying more televisions that use large flat panel displays.

Global revenue from shipments of large LCD panels used in televisions is set to rise by 40 percent to $49.2 billion in 2010 from $35.2 billion in 2009, market research firm iSuppli said in a January report.

“Revenue growth and profitablity in the global LCD-TV panel market in 2010 will be driven by rising demand, the shift to larger sized displays, the accelerating sales of higher value panels and increased manufacturing efficiency,” said Sweta Dash, senior director of LCD research for iSuppli. “Television brands in 2010 are planning to focus on 3D solutions that will lead to faster adoption.”

Hannstar Display Corp. led sales growth in Taiwan’s LCD industry with a 158 percent jump in first quarter sales of screens for notebook computers as well as small and medium sized panels for such products as mobile phones and other portable electronic devices.

Taiwan’s Chunghwa Picture Tubes trailed Hannstar with a 139 percent increase in first quarter sales.

Chimei Innolux Corp., which this year became Taiwan’s largest LCD maker through the merger of Innolux Display Corp. and Chi Mei Optoelectronics, had a 124 percent gain in first quarter sales.

Taiwan’s LCD industry makes about half of the world’s flat-panel displays used in televisions, computers, mobile phones and other portable electronics.

One of Taiwan’s five major LCD makers, Prime View International, makes most of the screens used in electronic book products such as the Kindle from Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer, and the Reader from Japanese consumer electronics maker Sony. E-books have been among some of the fastest growing products in the electronics industry.

A number of companies such as book vendor Barnes & Noble have launched their own e-readers as the new products have been in strong demand. An e-reader can be used to display e-books or newspaper reports. The main advantages of these devices are portability, legibility in bright sunlight and long battery life.

Prime View, the world’s highest volume supplier of ePaper display modules, last year announced an agreement to acquire US-based E Ink Corp., the leading supplier of electronic paper display materials and intellectual property, for approximately $215 million.

The new company will expand capacity and develop improvements for ePaper display screens that are easy on the eyes, long-lasting, and highly portable, Prime View said in a statement on its website.

ePaper is ideal for digital documents that are less wasteful and easier to process than paper documents.

Taiwan companies are among the world’s innovators which are offering products that save energy, reduce pollution and help keep people fit. Taiwan has some of the world’s largest companies making green products such as bicycles, energy saving lights and solar cells to name a few. The Taiwan government is supporting this effort as part of its goal of sustainable development for businesses.