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Samsung launches huge LCD amid price slump

Demand for pricey flat-screen TVs has fallen short of expectations. But that didn't stop Samsung from unveiling an 82-inch whopper. Photo: Samsung's 82-inch flat screen

Reuters

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April 6, 2005 1:00 a.m. PT

2 min read

Samsung Electronics, the world's top flat-screen maker, said on Monday that a profit-sapping slide in LCD prices won't reverse until the fourth quarter, dashing hopes for a recovery as soon as next month.

Samsung said in January prices for liquid-crystal displays would fall further in the first quarter after almost halving in the second half of last year, but could recover as early as the second quarter.

Samsung also said on Monday it had developed the world's largest LCD panel, an 82-inch (208 cm) screen, topping a 65-inch LCD TV unveiled by Japan's Sharp in October.

Samsung hopes bigger LCDs will allow it break into the market for very large flat-panel TVs, dominated by plasma display makers. LCDs have been used mainly for smaller TVs until recently.

Samsung said it would be at least 18 months before it mass-produced the new panel. No pricing was given for the product.

LCD prices have tumbled because demand for expensive flat-screen televisions has fallen short of the expectations of manufacturers, who are spending more than $40 billion to ramp up production over the next decade.

"LCD prices won't rebound until the fourth quarter. They will definitely rise by Q4 as demand continues to pick up," Cho Yong-duk, a vice president of Samsung's LCD division, told reporters on the sidelines of a product launch. "The prices are likely to stay stable in Q2 and Q3 after a fall in Q1."

Prices for computer LCDs are likely to recover sooner than those for televisions, said Michael Min, tech analyst at Dongwon Securities.

"We believe Samsung was focusing on price of LCDs for TV when it forecast a recovery in the fourth quarter," Min said. "For prices of LCDs for computer monitors and notebooks, the rebound should come earlier than that."

Screen makers are investing heavily in factories for making televisions as thin as a picture frame, pushing down prices. The upgrade from traditional cathode-ray tubes is the biggest change in TV technology since the switch from black-and-white.

The world LCD TV market is growing fast. According to Display Search, LCDs already account for 31 percent of TVs of 28-inch screens and larger. They are expected to account for 45 percent this year and 60 percent by 2007.