Innolux to Challenge Shipment of 3M. Display Panels for NB PCs This Year

Taipei, May 5, 2009 (CENS)--After landing contract orders from Dell for 15.6-inch display panels for notebook PCs, Innolux Display Corp., a Taiwanese display panel maker affiliated with the Hon Hai Group, is going to challenge notebook-PC display panel shipment of 3 million units for this year, according to industry sources.

The sources noted that as Hon Hai Group has actively planned to venture into the sector of notebook PC manufacturing, Innolux, capable of producing display panels for notebook PCs, will help its parent secure 30-40% of the supply of components and cut material costs.

In fact, the firm has actively diversified its production into display panels for notebook PCs since last year, mainly focusing on 13.3- and 15.4-ince models. With an influx of orders from its U.S. clients, the firm has raised the shipment projection to 3 million units for this year from 1 million units. Plus, the firm has also started supplying 8.9-inch models for netbook PCs this year.

Innolux shipped around 30 million LCD (liquid crystal display) monitors, its original core business, last year and is expected to push up the figure to 36 million this year. Noteworthy is that the firm has outpaced its Taiwanese counterpart TPV Technology Ltd. as the world's No. 1 supplier in the segment in March, posting sales revenue of NT$12.09 billion (US$392 million at US$1: NT$33.4) for the month, sharply up 33.7% from NT$9.04 billion (US$271 million) a month earlier.

Institutional investors indicated that in addition to increasing LCD monitor shipments, price hikes in display panels for LCD monitors have also driven the firm's sales growth in recent months. For example, the quotation of a 19-inch display panel has reached US$66 in late April from US$60 late February.