BOE is charting a course to future-proof its business by investing 50 billion yuan ($6.9 billion) over the next three years in internet of things (IoT) related research and development. This is part of the strategy unveiled by BOE chairman, Chen Yanshun, at the company’s innovation partner conference (IPC) where the company committed itself to greater integration of IoT devices and services into its displays. Xu Xiaoguang, BOE’s vice president and CTO, said that the company would concentrate its efforts on three key areas: the semiconductors of displays, IoT, and sensors.
This shift towards IoT comes amid a significant downturn in the display panel industry. BOE’s net profit for the first quarter nosedived 94 % to 247 million yuan ($34 million) from a year earlier. Revenue dropped by 25% to 38 billion yuan ($5.2 billion), with 15.3% of the total revenue coming from IoT products. As a result of escalating costs, BOE will increase the prices of its MiniLED and MicroLED products starting next month.
