OLED shipments explode in Q3’09, bringing in over $250 million in revenues

AUSTIN, USA: In its latest Quarterly OLED Shipment and Forecast Report, DisplaySearch reported that worldwide OLED revenues shattered its previous record, reaching $252 million in revenue for Q3’09, up 31 percent Q/Q. In addition, Q3’09 OLED shipments were 21.7 million, up 19 percent Q/Q (as shown in Fig. 1).

Fig. 1: Quarterly OLED Display RevenuesSource: DisplaySearch Q4’09 Quarterly OLED Shipment and Forecast Report

Despite the state of the economy, increased demand in high-end mobile and smart phones has driven growth, partially due to Samsung Telecom’s continued heavy promotion efforts of AMOLED smart phone high-performance benefits.

Samsung Mobile Displays (SMD) maintained its strong lead in OLED shipments and also captured a 73 percent market share in AMOLED revenues, while RiTdisplay ranked second with a 12 percent share. LG Display has also announced plans to start production of 15” AMOLED TV displays in Q3’09.

“While the mobile phone industry continues to suffer as a result of the economy, Samsung’s marketing initiatives have propelled high-end AMOLED mobile phone demand to new heights,” noted Hiroshi Hayase, DisplaySearch Director of Small/Medium Displays. “The company is forecast to maintain its lead in mobile displays in 2010.”

Fig 2: Q3’09 OLED Market Revenue ShareSource: DisplaySearch Q4’09 Quarterly OLED Shipment and Forecast Report

While the AMOLED market has increased in both shipments and revenues, PMOLED did not grow from 2008 to 2009, as a result of the shift from clam-shell style phones that use PMOLED to high-end mobile smart phones. Despite this, PMOLED demand is increasing in automotive applications adopted by Mercedes Benz and Lexus. As a result, PMOLED shipments for automotive applications have increased to 427K in Q3’09, up 19 percent Q/Q and 22 percent Y/Y.

The OLED market has also witnessed market consolidation this past quarter, with Eastman Kodak Co. selling its OLED display business to LG Electronics, as well as InnoLux acquiring CMO and TPO, including their OLED production.