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By: Richard Del Cazzo
Web site: http://www.hdtv-hdtv.com
Samsung LCD monitors overtook archrival LG
Philips in the first quarter as the world's top maker of LCD
monitors, according to industry data, and Samsung is set to
keep its lead.
Austin, Texas-based DisplaySearch, which LCD
monitors the electronic display market, said recent data showed
Samsung, the top maker of notebook computer displays, had
overtaken LG Philips in sales of desktop computer monitors,
where LG Philips has long been the leader.
Ross Young, president of DisplaySearch, said in an interview
that through a combination of heavy investment, speedy manufacturing
and smart product bets, Samsung LCD monitors remain the world's
No. 1 LCD display .
"DisplaySearch expects Samsung LCD monitors to retain
position throughout 2004," Young said. "In terms
of their total capacity, we expect Samsung to remain ahead
of LG Philips through 2008."
The news comes amid preparations for a $1 billion IPO this
year by LG Philips, a joint venture of LG Electronics of South
Korea and Philips Electronics of the Netherlands. The venture
is based in South Korea, as is Samsung.
The market share battle between the two electronics makers
is considered by analysts to be one of the highest stakes
competitions of the decade, one in which each side is investing
tens of billions of dollars to come out on top.
Growing volumes, heavy investment and technology advances
are expected to cut the cost of a 40-inch flat panel screen
by two-thirds by 2007, according to Young.
Wide-screen, crystal clear TVs that now retail for $7,500
could fall to less than $1,999 in three years, Young estimated.
The wholesale cost of the screens themselves, which now sell
for around $2,500 should fall to around $800 in 2007.
The market will grow to $95 billion in sales by 2008 from
$60 billion this year, according to industry estimates.
LCDs (liquid crystal displays) are electronic screens composed
of millions of semiconductors arrayed behind a thin sheet
of glass. Each transistor chip throws off light to create
high-resolution images for everything from candy-bar-size
mobile phones to 57-inch flat-panel televisions.
Samsung LCD monitors, the display business of Samsung Electronics,
said its first-quarter sales of high resolution LCDs totaled
$2.4 billion, an industry record for a single quarter, and
more than $500 million above the sales of LG Philips, its
closest rival.
For much of 2003, LG Philips used DisplaySearch market research
data to claim the leading share of displays that are 10 inches
and above, or the sizes used in computers and TV screens,
which represent the bulk of global sales.
Desktop monitor sales are estimated to reach $20 billion
in 2004, and $11 billion of notebook screens are expected
to be sold this year worldwide, according to DisplaySearch
forecasts. Small displays, under 10 inches, are a $9 billion
market, while sales of the biggest screens, measuring 19 inches
and up, totaled $5 billion.
This latter market is still dominated by LG Philips and will
be at least until 2005, when a Samsung and Sony joint venture
will bring the world's largest display glass production plant
on line, said Joe Virginia, vice president of Samsung LCD
monitors, Americas, in San Jose, Calif.
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