Samsung is expecting a 10% drop in LCD prices

eHDMI · 06-17-2006, 05:29 PM

Samsung Electronics expects prices of liquid crystal display (LCD) panels to fall about 10 percent in the second quarter from the previous quarter, a company source said on Tuesday.

Samsung, the world's second-biggest maker of large-size LCDs, had already made the price cuts during April and May, the executive told Reuters by telephone, declining to be named.

The comment comes as analysts expect many LCD makers to post operating losses in the second quarter due to weaker-than-expected panel prices and increased competition.

Samsung had expected last month LCD panel prices to stabilize during the second quarter.

"Given the sharper-than-expected panel price fall so far, top-tier firms such as Samsung and LG.Philips LCD are also expected to swing to losses," said Lee Min-hee, an analyst at CJ Investment Securities.

Lee forecast the industry's average LCD panel prices to fall 14 percent in the second quarter from the first quarter, accelerating from a 3 percent fall between January and March.

The Samsung executive declined to give profit forecasts for the company's LCD business.

Samsung said earlier this month a volume and price recovery in LCD panels would accelerate in the second half, with "marked improvements" in margins.
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Its LCD division posted a 4 percent profit in the first quarter, down from 13 percent in the fourth quarter.

Samsung competes with sector leader LG.Philips LCD of South Korea and Taiwan's AU Optronics. On top of its own LCD production lines, Samsung is also operating a joint flat-panel venture with Sony.

Price competition that has crushed LCD makers' margins is set to intensify with AU last month announcing the acquisition of its smaller local rival Quanta Display.

ah802 · 06-18-2006, 10:56 AM

LCD panel prices drop 10% and the manufacturers are crying foul... give me a break. More like losses against expected profits... which isn't losses at all... just a way of reporting to shareholders that greed in the company comes first! Keep your accountants handy..

Anyone expect panel prices to drop further? Sure, with 100's of million of consumers getting their wallets ready... there's enough for everyone.

Panel prices will continue to fall at blister rates until they reflect the true manufacturing costs and a reasonable margin. This is one of the few cases of true competitive competition keeping prices in check on a world scale.

Let the technology with the biggest competitive advantage win... and the race started yesterday.

CatManDoo · 06-18-2006, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ah802

LCD panel prices drop 10% and the manufacturers are crying foul... give me a break. More like losses against expected profits... which isn't losses at all... just a way of reporting to shareholders that greed in the company comes first! Keep your accountants handy..

Anyone expect panel prices to drop further? Sure, with 100's of million of consumers getting their wallets ready... there's enough for everyone.

Panel prices will continue to fall at blister rates until they reflect the true manufacturing costs and a reasonable margin. This is one of the few cases of true competitive competition keeping prices in check on a world scale.

Let the technology with the biggest competitive advantage win... and the race started yesterday.

And LCD's still cost a ton more than comparably sized (and soon to be extinct) CRT's...

ah802 · 06-19-2006, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CatManDoo

And LCD's still cost a ton more than comparably sized (and soon to be extinct) CRT's...

They shouldn't.... these plants cost a bundle to set-up, but employ way fewer people and out-put is much higher. It was only three years ago, when I read about a 2 billion dollar investment into a CRT plant in India.. and wondered 'what for?' So setting up these plants might be costly... but in the big scheme of things.. they're all costly. LCD construction takes fewer people and less parts, which means more fixed costs.. with potential for either lower prices or larger profits.

With the majority of sales yet to come... I'm thinking lower prices!

BobY · 06-19-2006, 10:15 PM

There's no question we'll see the cost of LCD's drop and the panel size increase, but bear in mind that a huge part of the cost is the yield of good displays.

LCD's are based on the same manufacturing processes as chip fabrication. Prices do drop as volume increases as the process cost is essentially fixed, but the larger the device being fabricated, the (exponentially) greater the likelihood of a defect which renders the whole panel useless.

In the early days of big LCD's, it was common to see a disclaimer that a certain number of bad pixels was "normal" and "acceptable", however that proved not to be "acceptable" to a lot of consumers who paid big bucks for these displays and most mainstream manufacturers now look for 100% pixel functionality out of the box.

Zaphod · 06-20-2006, 08:13 PM

As a consumer I'm not real fond of buying something that sort of works. I imagine they had a ton of returns

BobY · 06-21-2006, 11:15 PM

It was a bad scene. Often it would take weeks of use to notice a bad pixel and at that point you couldn't return the display. You also couldn't get a warranty "repair" (that's when they'd point out the disclaimer and say "sorry, pal"), but once you notice a bad pixel, it will drive you nuts, like a missing tooth.

Zaphod · 06-22-2006, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BobY

It was a bad scene. Often it would take weeks of use to notice a bad pixel and at that point you couldn't return the display. You also couldn't get a warranty "repair" (that's when they'd point out the disclaimer and say "sorry, pal"), but once you notice a bad pixel, it will drive you nuts, like a missing tooth.

The dead pixel, the where's waldo of LDC

06-17-2006, 05:29 PM	#1
eHDMI Vizio 37 LCD Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 1,638	Samsung is expecting a 10% drop in LCD prices Samsung Electronics expects prices of liquid crystal display (LCD) panels to fall about 10 percent in the second quarter from the previous quarter, a company source said on Tuesday. Samsung, the world's second-biggest maker of large-size LCDs, had already made the price cuts during April and May, the executive told Reuters by telephone, declining to be named. The comment comes as analysts expect many LCD makers to post operating losses in the second quarter due to weaker-than-expected panel prices and increased competition. Samsung had expected last month LCD panel prices to stabilize during the second quarter. "Given the sharper-than-expected panel price fall so far, top-tier firms such as Samsung and LG.Philips LCD are also expected to swing to losses," said Lee Min-hee, an analyst at CJ Investment Securities. Lee forecast the industry's average LCD panel prices to fall 14 percent in the second quarter from the first quarter, accelerating from a 3 percent fall between January and March. The Samsung executive declined to give profit forecasts for the company's LCD business. Samsung said earlier this month a volume and price recovery in LCD panels would accelerate in the second half, with "marked improvements" in margins. In other news: * Gates, Ballmer on challenges ahead * Reporter's notebook: Art, engineering and a few bicycles * A safe space for 'tweens' on the Net * News.com Extra: Google to focus on London for next phase * Video: Gates going, but slowly Its LCD division posted a 4 percent profit in the first quarter, down from 13 percent in the fourth quarter. Samsung competes with sector leader LG.Philips LCD of South Korea and Taiwan's AU Optronics. On top of its own LCD production lines, Samsung is also operating a joint flat-panel venture with Sony. Price competition that has crushed LCD makers' margins is set to intensify with AU last month announcing the acquisition of its smaller local rival Quanta Display. __________________ Discount HDTV Accessories HDFury

06-18-2006, 10:56 AM	#2
ah802 Visual Arts Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 1,241	Losses.... Cry me a river! LCD panel prices drop 10% and the manufacturers are crying foul... give me a break. More like losses against expected profits... which isn't losses at all... just a way of reporting to shareholders that greed in the company comes first! Keep your accountants handy.. Anyone expect panel prices to drop further? Sure, with 100's of million of consumers getting their wallets ready... there's enough for everyone. Panel prices will continue to fall at blister rates until they reflect the true manufacturing costs and a reasonable margin. This is one of the few cases of true competitive competition keeping prices in check on a world scale. Let the technology with the biggest competitive advantage win... and the race started yesterday.

06-19-2006, 10:15 PM	#5
BobY What's all this, then?... Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 6,197	There's no question we'll see the cost of LCD's drop and the panel size increase, but bear in mind that a huge part of the cost is the yield of good displays. LCD's are based on the same manufacturing processes as chip fabrication. Prices do drop as volume increases as the process cost is essentially fixed, but the larger the device being fabricated, the (exponentially) greater the likelihood of a defect which renders the whole panel useless. In the early days of big LCD's, it was common to see a disclaimer that a certain number of bad pixels was "normal" and "acceptable", however that proved not to be "acceptable" to a lot of consumers who paid big bucks for these displays and most mainstream manufacturers now look for 100% pixel functionality out of the box.

06-20-2006, 08:13 PM	#6
Zaphod My Resolution is Definite Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 70	As a consumer I'm not real fond of buying something that sort of works. I imagine they had a ton of returns

06-21-2006, 11:15 PM	#7
BobY What's all this, then?... Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 6,197	It was a bad scene. Often it would take weeks of use to notice a bad pixel and at that point you couldn't return the display. You also couldn't get a warranty "repair" (that's when they'd point out the disclaimer and say "sorry, pal"), but once you notice a bad pixel, it will drive you nuts, like a missing tooth.