DisplaySearch Reports Q2'07 Small/Medium Display Average Selling Prices Up for the First Time in Over Two Years
(Business News, 26 Sep 2007 )
Small/medium display results for Q2'07 showed weighted average selling prices (ASP) were up 2 percent Q/Q, but down 20 percent Y/Y to ¥1,052 from ¥1,033. In addition, small/medium ASP reductions have bottomed out in Q2'07, with panels used for personal media players, portable DVD players and PDAs up or flat Q/Q after averaging double-digit reductions over the past two years. Moreover, a-Si TFT LCDs and CSTN LCDs (which make up 48.9 percent of small/medium display shipments) both had weighted average ASPs that were flat Q/Q, but down 13 percent and 21 percent Y/Y, respectively.
These results were revealed by DisplaySearch in its Q3'07 Quarterly Small/Medium Pricing Report. The firm forecasts ASPs to be up 4 percent in Q3'07, but down 4 percent in Q4'07. On a Y/Y basis, ASP reductions were moderate, with 26 percent and 6 percent forecasted for Q3'07 and Q4'07, respectively.
"There has been a major change in ASPs for the small/medium display segment in Q2'07. Increased demand has caused the rate at which ASPs have been falling to slow significantly in high-volume applications like mobile phones, and in applications like portable media players and portable DVD players. They are actually going up after experiencing 30 percent to 40 percent Y/Y decreases for the past two years," said Dale H. Maunu, DisplaySearch's Vice President.
Other findings by the report include: - Mobile phone display ASP decreases remain at the low single digits Q/Q, but the low ASPs for most panel sizes are increasing as Taiwan display makers raise prices. - ASP reductions will continue to be moderate in Q3'07, with MP3 players up Q/Q. - Price premium between LTPS and a-Si panels are increasing as supply of LTPS seems to be tightening. - Prices for some PMLCD only applications (automotive, home and office) are no longer falling. - Panel makers are beginning to examine the revenue per square meter of glass and are raising prices on the bottom end, shifting to higher productivity applications such as mobile phones. - Large-area panel makers who have been producing and selling cells are looking seriously at expanding their module capacity to move up the food chain and increase revenue.
"Japanese display makers have traditionally enjoyed higher price points than their Taiwanese counterparts, but prices in Taiwan are increasing and narrowing the gap between these two regions," Maunu also noted.
The report shows that portable DVDs prices rose 11percent Q/Q due to the tight supply of displays stemming from growing demand for digital picture frames, which use the same size displays, and what had been an artificially low price point. Starting this quarter, DisplaySearch has defined the differences between some related products and separated them into distinct categories for increased accuracy in analysis: - Portable media players from MP3 players - Portable navigation devices from PDAs - Digital picture frames from portable DVD players
