Global LCD TV shipments in 2Q12 to grow 8.4 percent QoQ; LED TV penetration rate to reach 70 percent in 2012

TAIWAN: According to the Worldwide LCD TV Brands Shipment Report from WitsView, the panel research division of TrendForce, global LCD TV shipments in 2011 reached 200.5 million and is projected to reach 216.5 million in 2012 with an increased YoY of 8 percent. The brand vendors had been continuing to digest the inventory due to lackluster market demand and their conservative inventory stock-up amid the weak macroeconomics in past three quarters.

However, the overall LCD TV shipments in 4Q11 performed well with a 15.1 percent QoQ increase, helped by the rebounded market demand due to year-end promotion in North America and product launches before Chinese Lunar New Year, encouraging the LCD TV brands vendors to be more aggressive on shipment in order to hit their annual sales target.

On the contrary, the shipments in 1Q12 are estimated to drop by 24.5 percent QoQ and 2 percent YoY due to off-season and the concerns for new panel quality. The QoQ decline cannot be eased until the quality and mass production issues are solved; however, based on the current situation, with the upcoming May 1st Labor Day holidays in China, the shipment in 2Q12 is forecasted to rise by 8.4 percent QoQ as brand vendors are planning to postpone the demand for new models to 2Q12.Source: WitsView, Taiwan.

Burrell Liu, WitsView research director, indicated that leaving past three diffcult quarters behind, the top five global LCD TV brand vendors’ attitude towards shipment turned aggressive and further enabled their respective shipments in 4Q11 to reach 18.5 percent; among which the China brands increased by 15 percent with the help of the strong demand during Chinese New Year, while the remaining brands enjoyed the growth about 10.5 percent.

Vizio, whose sales slumped for three quarters, outperformed its peers with a sharp QoQ increase of 56 percent. The overall LED TV shipments surged in 4Q11, inspiring the penetration rate of LED TV to hit 44.9 percent, while 3D TV’s penetration rate reached 9.5 percent, benefitting from the raised shipment ratio of Chinese brands. It is estimated that in 2012, the penetration rate of LED and 3D TV will jump to 71.4 percent and 19.2 percent, respectively.Source: WitsView, Taiwan.

Korean brands’ share of the global market maintains 30~31 percent during 2010~2012, while the top six China TV brands have performed even more aggressively by gaining the share of 22 percent this year from 17.6 percent in 2010.

On the contrary, the Japanese brands’ market share have slid all the way from 32.4 percent in 2010 to 27.7 percent this year as forecasted, which is a warning sign for TW SI makers who mainly do OEM for Japanese brands.Source: WitsView, Taiwan.