DisplaySearch Reports Large-Area TFT LCD Shipments Grew in Feb

AUSTIN, TX; March 19, 2009. February 2009 shipments of large-area TFT LCD panels reached 29.5 million units, showing a month-on-month (M/M) growth of 23%, according to DisplaySearch's Monthly TFT LCD Shipment Database report. Large-area TFT LCD revenues reached $2.96 billion, up 14% M/M. For both unit shipments and revenues, February was the first positive monthly growth since September 2008. According to DisplaySearch, February's results were mainly due to increasing rush orders, as well as inventory refill from clients, but they could also be an indication that the TFT LCD industry is at, or near, the bottom of the cycle.

DisplaySearch's research found that LCD monitor panels had the highest M/M growth at 37%, followed by notebook PC panels at 21% and TVs at 11%. However, shipments are still lower than in February last year, and the Y/Y decline is in the double digits.

In terms of revenues, Samsung was the leader in large-area TFT LCD, with 30.2% market share, followed by LG Display at 26.8%. On a shipment basis, Samsung also led with 26.7% market share, followed closely by LG Display at 26.4%. Both shares are the highest level for the leading suppliers in four years.

According to David Hsieh, Vice President of DisplaySearch, "The February results are encouraging for panel makers as they reflect a rebound in demand. All TFT LCD manufacturers have suffered from declining shipments every month for the past half-year. We believe rush orders and inventory refill from downstream contributed to the surge in panel shipments."

Mr. Hsieh added, "We previously noted that January 2009 could be the bottom of this cycle, and we believe March will show double-digit growth over February, as all panel makers are increasing capacity utilization. The key challenge for panel makers is to evaluate the supply-demand balance, which will be determined by the amount of production increase and by whether the growth in demand is sustained in Q2'09."