According to UBI Research, the OLED emitting material market totalled $230 million in the second quarter of 2018, increasing 19.3% quarter-on-quarter and representing flat growth compared to the second quarter of 2017.
OLED panel sales for smartphones fell in the first quarter of the year, down 38.5% compared to the fourth quarter of 2017, causing growth concerns for the OLED emitting materials market. However, emitting materials are also recovering due to rising utilisation rates at Samsung and the start of POLED production at LG.
Six companies – Dow, Duksan Neolux, Idemitsu Kosan, LG Chem, Merck and UDC – were among the companies with sales exceeding $20 million in the second quarter of 2018.
Among those companies, LG Chem posted the highest quarterly sales growth, up 35% from the previous quarter and up 26% from the same quarter last year. This resulted from the start of LG’s POLED mass production and the related sales growth.
Since POLED is expected to be used in the iPhone from the end of the year, LG Chem is anticipated to record the highest growth rate among emitting material makers in 2019.
