LG Display sees LCD panel shortage from H2
The oversupplied flat screen market will swing back to a shortage in the second half, helped by strong demand from China and restocking by television makers to prepare for a seasonal rise in demand, an executive at LG Display said.
"We see the LCD market tightening and swinging back to a short supply condition in the second half," Kevin Choi, head of TV sales and marketing at the world's No.2 flat-screen maker, told the Reuters Technology Summit in Seoul on Wednesday.
"Prices (of television panels) have just started rising and will continue to rise steadily toward the second half as worldwide panel inventory has now returned to historically normal levels and TV demand tends to pick up in the fourth quarter," Choi said.
LG Display's outlook was more bullish than that of its bigger rival Samsung Electronics. The head of Samsung's LCD business told the Reuters Technology Summit that flat screen prices were stabilising and its earnings would improve.
Choi said demand growth was strong in China and the U.S. markets but subdued in western Europe.
After a one third fall in prices over the past one year, TV panel prices are finally showing signs of bottoming out this month, with prices of 40-42 inch panels edging up 1 percent from late April, according to industry data.
Choi said gains in blended selling prices of LG Display's TV panels are outpacing an overall market recovery and started rising slightly from April thanks to strong demand for pricey 3D panels.
Shares in LG Display, which counts LG Electronics and Philips AG as its major TV screen clients, were up 1.6 percent by 0335 GMT in a broader market up 1.3 percent.
"We see the LCD market tightening and swinging back to a short supply condition in the second half," Kevin Choi, head of TV sales and marketing at the world's No.2 flat-screen maker, told the Reuters Technology Summit in Seoul on Wednesday.
"Prices (of television panels) have just started rising and will continue to rise steadily toward the second half as worldwide panel inventory has now returned to historically normal levels and TV demand tends to pick up in the fourth quarter," Choi said.
LG Display's outlook was more bullish than that of its bigger rival Samsung Electronics. The head of Samsung's LCD business told the Reuters Technology Summit that flat screen prices were stabilising and its earnings would improve.
Choi said demand growth was strong in China and the U.S. markets but subdued in western Europe.
After a one third fall in prices over the past one year, TV panel prices are finally showing signs of bottoming out this month, with prices of 40-42 inch panels edging up 1 percent from late April, according to industry data.
Choi said gains in blended selling prices of LG Display's TV panels are outpacing an overall market recovery and started rising slightly from April thanks to strong demand for pricey 3D panels.
Shares in LG Display, which counts LG Electronics and Philips AG as its major TV screen clients, were up 1.6 percent by 0335 GMT in a broader market up 1.3 percent.
