Some TFT-LCD panel makers recorded shipment growth in Oct.

Taipei, Nov. 11, 2004 (CENS)--Some major thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panel makers saw their shipment volumes for October rebound to the levels in June, although their revenues remained on the drop.

AU Optronics Corp. (AUO), the No. 1 panel maker in Taiwan, scored aggregate revenue of NT$12.83 billion (US$387.46 million at US$1: NT$33.1) in October, down 0.8% from September but up 15.4% from one year earlier. The slight revenue slide showed a slowdown of the price fall, industry sources said.

AUO shipped 1.7 million large-sized panels in October, up 7.25% from the previous month and a new monthly record this year. The company also delivered about 3.75 million small- and medium-sized panels last month, down 15.7% from the preceding month.

AUO forecasted its shipment volume of large-sized panels in the fourth quarter to increase 10% from the third quarter, and predicted shipment of small- and medium-sized panels to drop 10% due to the traditional off-season. The company said that there is still a room for a 5% price fall in the fourth quarter.

Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp. (CMO, No. 2 in Taiwan) reported total revenue of NT$9.8 billion (US$295.92 million) in October, up 4.5% from September and 10.8% one year earlier. CMO was the only local panel maker enjoying revenue growth last month, representing the company's smooth panel shipment.

CMO shipped 1.36 million large-sized panels in October (including those from International Display Technology Inc.--IDT of Japan, a joint venture between CMO and IBM Japan), up 13.9% from the previous month and up 44.1% from one year earlier. The company estimated that its fourth-quarter shipment would grow at lest 10% from the third quarter, including about 660,000 TV panels.

Chunghwa Picture Tubes, Ltd. (CPT, No. 3) registered combined revenue of NT$8.83 billion (US$266.71 million) in October, down 4.14% from the previous month. The firm shipped 912,000 large-sized panels, up 5.6%.

CPT estimated that its fourth-quarter panel shipment would increase 15% to 16% from the third quarter due to the recovering demand from downstream customers, though the prices would be a little bit lower.

HannStar Display Corp. (No. 5) scored revenue of NT$2.68 billion (US$80.88 million) in October, down 0.2% from the previous month. It shipped 471,000 large-sized panels last month, down 1.5% from September. The company said that its shipments of 15-inch notebook PC-use and 17-inch monitor-use panels increased slightly though the prices continued falling slightly.

HannStar claimed that the capacity of the company's new fifth-generation panel plant has been steadily increasing due to the improved production processes and elevated defect-free rate.