Taiwanese manufacturers of liquid-crystal-display (LCD) panels could report a fifth straight quarterly decline in revenues this quarter as the economic downturn curtails sales of electronic products, but they might see encouraging signs after the free-fall in prices stops, the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI, 工研院) said yesterday.
The local market researcher said domestic LCD panel makers’ revenues from PC and TV panel sales likely plunged nearly 60 percent to NT$113.34 billion (US$3.5 billion) in the second quarter from NT$281.59 billion in the same quarter last year, as demand from US and European markets remained sluggish.
“Demand from China helped generate some orders, but it will take more time to see whether it will be strong enough to lead to a recovery,” ITRI analyst Nancy Liu (劉美君) said yesterday.
Liu said she held a positive view about Beijing’s economic stimulus measures subsidizing purchases of TVs and other home appliances in rural China and now in some big cities, but it remained to be seen how Taiwanese companies would benefit from the Chinese demand.
“End demand looks just okay in the traditionally slack second quarter ... but at least we are seeing prices stabilize from April after LCD panel makers adjusted output [downward over the past quarters], which may help panel suppliers stem their bleeding from the downturn,” she said.
The nation’s two largest flat-panel makers, AU Optronics Corp (友達光電) and Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp (奇美電子), have accumulated losses of NT$45.96 billion and NT$54.89 billion respectively during the past three quarters since global economic turmoil started taking a toll on electronics consumption in the third quarter of last year.
ITRI said it had recently begun seeing more positive signs. Prices for 20-inch PC monitor panels rose around US$1 or US$2 per unit last month from March, the researcher said.
In the first quarter, local panel makers reported a 59.4 percent year-on-year decline in PC and TV panel revenues to NT$119.3 billion, ITRI’s tallies show.
For the whole of this year, local panel makers could still see accelerating declines in their revenues from PC and TV screens as a result of recessionary pressure, ITRI said. It forecast revenues from PC and TV panels may fall by 16 percent annually to NT$798.45 billion from last year’s NT$950.53 billion.
Shares of AU Optronics and Chi Mei Optoelectronics yesterday fell 3.71 percent and 3.12 percent to NT$33.7 and NT$18.65 respectively, under-performing the benchmark TAIEX, which slid 0.04 percent.
AI REVOLUTION: The event is to take place from Wednesday to Friday at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center’s halls 1 and 2 and would feature more than 1,100 exhibitors Semicon Taiwan, an annual international semiconductor exhibition, would bring leaders from the world’s top technology firms to Taipei this year, the event organizer said. The CEO Summit is to feature nine global leaders from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), ASE Technology Holding Co (ASE, 日月光投控), Applied Materials Inc, Google, Samsung Electronics Co, SK Hynix Inc, Microsoft Corp, Interuniversity Microelectronic Centre and Marvell Technology Group Ltd, SEMI said in a news release last week. The top executives would delve into how semiconductors are positioned as the driving force behind global technological innovation amid the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution, the organizer said. Among them,
When she was in fifth grade, Scarlett Goddard Strahan started to worry about getting wrinkles. By the time she turned 10, she and her friends were spending hours on ByteDance Ltd’s TikTok and Google’s YouTube watching influencers tout products for achieving today’s beauty aesthetic: a dewy, “glowy,” flawless complexion. Goddard Strahan developed an elaborate skin care routine with facial cleansers, mists, hydrating masks and moisturizers. One night, her skin began to burn intensely and erupted in blisters. Heavy use of adult-strength products had wreaked havoc on her skin. Months later, patches of tiny bumps remain on her face, and her cheeks turn
Intel Corp is working with investment bankers to help navigate the most difficult period in its 56-year history, people familiar with the matter said. The company is discussing various scenarios, including a split of its product design and manufacturing businesses, and which factory projects might potentially be scrapped, the people said, who asked not to be identified. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Intel’s longtime bankers, have been providing advice on the possibilities, which could also include potential mergers and acquisitions, the people said. The discussions have only grown more urgent since Intel delivered a grim earnings report, which sent the
Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) yesterday said Taiwan’s government plans to set up a business service company in Kyushu, Japan, to help Taiwanese companies operating there. “The company will follow the one-stop service model similar to the science parks we have in Taiwan,” Kuo said. “As each prefecture is providing different conditions, we will establish a new company providing services and helping Taiwanese companies swiftly settle in Japan.” Kuo did not specify the exact location of the planned company but said it would not be in Kumamoto, the Kyushu prefecture in which Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC, 台積電) has a