TAIPEI: Innolux Corp, the nation’s biggest LCD panel maker, here the other day reported weaker-than-expected quarterly revenue after a sharp drop in revenue last month due to a decline in prices of PC and TV panels and a fall in shipments.
Last quarter’s revenue declined 6.39 percent to NT$93.76 billion (US$3 billion), from NT$100.16 billion in the previous quarter, a steeper fall than the company estimated and worse than Credit Suisse Group AG analyst Jerry Su’s estimate of a 2 percent contraction.
Last month, sales dropped 3.33 percent to NT$30.16 billion from May’s NT$31.2 billion, the company said in a statement.
The firm’s sales of PC and TV panels last month decreased by 6.6 percent to 10.11 million units from 10.82 million in May.
Shipments for the second quarter dropped about 2 percent to 31 million units from 31.64 million in the previous quarter, the firm said.
Su said sluggish PC demand was the main reason behind the LCD industry’s weakness.
Credit Suisse expects global PC shipments to drop 7 percent annually this year, more than its previous estimate of a 4 percent decline, because of weak consumer demand amid foreign exchange volatility.
Soft demand for PCs and monitors, coupled with continuous inventory digestion, could continue to weigh on the panel business in the second half of this year, Su said.
However, Su said Innolux would be better positioned in the market than AU Optronics Corp (AUO), as Innolux has a more diverse range of TV products, a better customer portfolio, lower IT exposure and a healthier inventory level.
Innolux also said that the European Commission had overruled an appeal filed by the company against a fine imposed in anti-trust investigations in 2013.
Innolux shares yesterday rose 3.72 percent to NT$13.95 and AUO shares advanced 1.18 percent to NT$12.85 in Taipei trading.
