TFT-LCD Maker CMI Expects to Turn Profitable in 2013

Taipei, Nov. 23, 2012 (CENS)--Chimei Innolux Corp., the largest maker of thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panels in Taiwan, posted positive profit margins in the third quarter, and expects to turn profitable in 2013, according to company chairman Tuan Hsing-chien.

The company also plans to further expand production capacity by installing new equipment at existing production lines.

Regarding the business climate from the fourth quarter of 2012 to the first half of 2013, Tuan said that current demand for LCD TV, smartphone panels are quite strong, while that for notebook PCs is relatively weak due to the rise of tablet PCs and delayed replacement purchases of Windows 8 PCs.

The gloomy global economy and debt crisis in Europe have impacted the panel industry for eight straight quarters since the fourth quarter of 2010. After continued quarterly losses, however, CMI saw profit margin turn positive in the third quarter, so Tuan claimed that his company is ready to turn profitable.

As a leading player in Taiwan's flat panel display (FPD) industry, Tuan said, CMI has been aggressively focusing on development of new technologies and applications, such as active matrix organic light-emit diode (AMOLED) panel and IGZO (indium gallium zinc oxide) production technology. CMI is also expected to soon catch up with South Korean counterpart LG Display in the IPS (In-Plane Switching) technology to further upgrade yield rate and cut costs.

In the past two to three years or so, Tuan said, the global LCD panel line has been facing drastic structural changes, that in 2013 CMI anticipates not only to turn profitable, but also become a powerful player globally.