LCD panel-maker AU Optronics (AUO) is “guardedly optimistic” as it moves into the fourth quarter of 2017, according to Digitimes.
Digitimes quotes AUO chairman Paul Peng as saying that the panel industry is stable and healthy as demand for 18:9 aspect ratio smartphones continues to grow, despite a predicted 1-5% seasonal decline in shipments of large-sized panels for IT and TV applications. Average selling prices are also expected to fall by 4-6%, while small to medium-sized panel shipments will drop 7-9% as the company adjusts its product mix.
Peng also reportedly stated that the company will soon be producing trial volumes of new products ahead of their official launches in 2018, and are taking consumer feedback into account in their development.
When asked about BOE’s forthcoming Gen 10.5 LCD panel plant and other new facilities due to open, Peng surmised that the learning curve involved in getting these new production lines off the ground will be a steep one, and the overall panel industry won’t experience any real impact from the additional capacities for some time.
Digitimes also reports that the president of AUO, Michael Tsai, has predicted that the worldwide demand for LCD will rise by around 4-5% in 2017 overall, but that market growth will come in slightly lower, creating a “delicate balance in the supply and demand”. Tsai also reportedly estimated that global supply and demand of LCD will see annual growth of 5-7% in 2018.
