LCD panel maker AU Optronics Corp (AUO, 友達光電) yesterday reported its first quarterly decline in net profit in nearly eight quarters, as persistent shortages of components and surging transportation costs affected TV panel demand.

Moreover, as more countries emerge from COVID-19 lockdowns, demand for consumer electronics and low-cost computers for students began diminishing last quarter, AUO said.

However, demand for higher-margin commercial computers, high-end monitors for gaming PCs and industrial devices picked up, it said, adding that this has helped make up for the drop in TV panel demand and panel prices.

AUO’s blended average selling price (ASP) climbed 3 percent to US$506 per square meter last quarter from NT$491 a quarter earlier. TV panels’ revenue contribution fell to 22 percent last quarter from 26 percent in the preceding quarter.

“AUO has tried to optimize its product mix by scaling down TV panel shipments, while allocating more capacity for panels used for monitors, notebook computers or [niche] applications, such as medical devices, gaming and industrial devices. The prices for those panels are either stable or have trended up,” AUO chairman Paul Peng (彭双浪) told investors.

Net profit for July to last month edged down 1.1 percent to NT$19.31 billion (US$693.8 million), compared with NT$19.53 billion in the second quarter. On an annual basis, net profit skyrocketed from NT$2.89 billion.

With the flat-panel industry entering its slow season, AUO said it expects the industry correction to last through the first quarter of next year.

However, the company is confident that it would be able to weather the downturn better than its peers, given its diverse product lineup, Peng said.

AUO has continued to see robust demand for 85-inch ultra-high 8K resolution TV panels, premium monitors and commercial computers, he said.

Shipments this quarter would shrink by a low-single-digit percentage from last quarter, AUO said.

Blended ASP is projected to fall by a mid-single-digit percentage quarter-on-quarter, it said.

AUO would adjust its factory utilization in accordance with demand dynamics, it said, adding that factory utilization last quarter stood at about 95 percent.

Rival Innolux Corp (群創) yesterday said that its net profit last quarter dipped 13.2 percent to NT$18.6 billion, from NT$21.42 billion in the second quarter, but surged from NT$1.54 billion in the third quarter last year.

Innolux said blended ASP slid 3.23 percent quarter-on-quarter to US$449 from US$464 per square meter as some TV panel prices have tumbled at a more drastic pace than expected last quarter.

The company attributed weak TV panel demand, in part, to global port congestion, which led to an increase in inventory costs.

TV panels accounted for 32 percent of the company’s total revenue last quarter, down from 38 percent in the previous quarter, the company said.

Innolux expects its panel shipments to drop by a mid-single-digit percent this quarter from last quarter. The decline in blended ASP could accelerate to a high-single-digit this quarter compared with the second quarter, it said.


●Origin：Taipei Times
●Link：https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2021/10/29/2003766916