LED backlight penetration rate in monitors to reach 35 percent by 2012

This article appeared on LEDInside. Reproduced here for readers.

Author: Judy Huang, LEDInside

TAIWAN: Recently, LED-backlit LCD monitors are more frequently showing up in the market, indicating the increasing application of LED backlight in monitor field — the slowest growing section among the three major LED backlight application fields. According to LEDinside, the specialized market research house, LED backlight penetration rate in monitors will be no more than 1 percent in 2H09, while is expected to rise to 35 percent by 2012.

Vendors are promoting LED monitors; Are consumers ready to buy?
LED backlight technology has been introduced to monitor field for a long time. However, early products which were flawed in color rendering and uniformity and sold at high prices were not very popular in customers. However, LED technology has been keeping advancing, which brings the advantages of LED backlit monitors more noticeable, thus more and more manufacturers are developing LED backlit monitors and launching new products.

After Dell and AOC, many leading monitor suppliers including Samsung, LG, BenQ and Philips all launched new LCD monitors with LED backlight. And other vendors are also following suit. According to LEDinside, ASUS is to introduce its 20” plus LED LCD monitor by the year end, and CHIMEI plans to release such products in the first quarter of 2010.

Though having begun shipping LED backlit products, due to the high price, few monitor makers are shifting their major capacities to this new technology. For example, a 22’ high-end CCFL monitor currently available on the market is priced at around US$275; a LED-backlit product, however, is sold for around US$ 335, 20 percent higher comparing with top CCFL backlit one. Are consumers willing to pay for the 20 percent price gap? Thus, LEDinside projects the LED backlight penetration rate in monitors will not substantially grow in the short term.

Panel makers are aggressively introducing LED backlight; LED cost is expected to drop
In the same time, panel makers are actively developing LED backlit products. Industry insiders generally hold that 2009 should be the commencement year of LED backlight application in LCD monitors, and the leap will be seen in 2010.

Panel supplier AUO is to use LED backlight for 10 percent to 15 percent of its monitor panels, and INNOLUX president Duan Xingjian said the company targeted 50 percent monitor panels with LED backlight. In the same time, HannStar CEO Zhou Dinghui said the company plans to use LED backlight in all its monitor panels by 2010.

LCD panel cost accounts for a large part of the overall cost of a monitor. The backlight module of LCD monitor needs dozens of LEDs, which cost approximately 30~60 dollars, comparing with no more than 20 dollars for CCFL backlight. The cost gap of dozens of dollars is crucial for monitor.

However, mass production of LED panels could boost production capacity of LEDs, sequently cutting cost. Meanwhile, some companies are actively developing LED backlight modules with lower cost; there are even forecasts that LED backlight module price would drop to the level of general CCFL ones in just three years. According to LEDinside, cost of LED backlight module will necessarily drop under mass production, while when will it equal the cost of CCFL still remains uncertain.

LED backlight penetration rate is expected to reach 35 percent in 2012
The growing application of LED backlight in monitors is the result of notebook and TV vendors aggressively launching LED backlit products. According to LEDinside, LED backlight currently are mostly used in 19”- or larger-sized monitors, which means the backlight modules used in these monitors can also be applied to small-sized LCD TVs.

Due to the current short supply of LED and the price issue, LED backlight may not be popularized in monitors in the short term, while it can be expected that by the later half of 2010, when LED price drops after upstream LED chipmakers ramping up capacities, general acceptance of LED monitors is expected to be boosted.

As long as LED cost drops, monitor makers are likely to speed up introducing LED backlight, as in the case of LED NBs. Therefore, LEDinside estimates that LED monitors could account for 35 percent of the whole monitor market by 2012.

Taiwan LED makers begin to see a silver lining

TAIPEI, TAIWAN: According to survey of the industry research institute LEDinside, Taiwan's listed LED makers recorded total revenue of NT 5.982 billion in July 2009, a 5.8 percent growth from NT 5.652 billion in June 2009 and a 3.8 percent growth YoY.

LED chip makers’ total revenues in July gained 6.9 percent to NT 2.621 billion while LED packagers posted NT 3.361 billion, 5.1 percent growth MoM.Source: LEDInside

Based on LEDinside’s observation of recent market dynamics, capacity utilization of upstream GaN LED chipmakers is virtually fully-loaded, with orders extending through the end of the year. As a result, upstream makers have begun to raise capital for their respective expansion plans as they gear up for next year’s LED TV market.

As for downstream packagers, blessed by Q3 as the traditional hot season, demand for conventional handsets and smart phones is expected to boom, thereby stretching order visibility to the end of September.

Encouraged by the need to meet the power-saving requirements, the introduction of CULV notebooks further drives up the demand for LED backlight. Based on past experience, the momentum for the hot season will extend through September/October.

Under robust demand in TV and NB backlight market, downstream packagers have also initiated their expansion plans.

Taiwan’s chipmakers recorded total revenue of NT2.621 billion in July, a 6.9 percent growth MoM, and 2.6 percent YoY.Source: LEDInside

In individual performance, sales of upstream chipmakers Epistar, FOREPI, Huga Optotech all out-performed their previous records in the same period last year. Leading chipmaker Epistar’s revenues hit a historic high in July with NT 1.208 billion (MoM +5.3 percent).

Although Epistar’s GaN LED chip capacity utilization is fully-loaded, spurred by more efficient chip production and influx of orders for high brightness AllnGaP, its revenue continue to set new records.

Meanwhile FOREPI’s revenue reached 184 million (MoM +10 percent), also a record high level. With continual installation of new equipment by upstream chipmakers, growth of upstream chipmakers’ output will likely extend.

Downstream LED packagers recorded total revenue of NT3,361 billion (MoM +5.1 percent, YoY +4.7 percent) with output already surpassing the standard of the same period last year. Leading LED packager Everlight posted NT 953 million in revenue, another record high figure in this year.

LEDinside expects that in the coming months, with blessing from strong demand during the traditional hot season, Everlight has the potential of returning to the NT 1 billion mark in single month sales.

Unity Opto is another winner; thanks to its long-term investment in the backlight segment, benefiting from backlight demand of mid- and large-sized models, Unity Opto continued to record high revenue of NT 402 million (MoM +18 percent, YoY 70 percent).

Amid rising demand of white-brand handsets, Harvatek, with application in handsets accounting for a large part of the company’s revenue, recorded sales revenue of NT 245 million in July (MoM +12 percent).

With an array of new products, there is still much room for revenue growth in the latter half of 2009. As a result of recent changes in trading models, Light House Tech recorded 163 million in revenue (MoM -26 percent).Source: LEDInside

However, with its continual expansion in the latter half of 2009 and increased system integration ratio, revenue growth momentum will be restored, says LEDinside.

Spurred by demand LED output returns to last year’s benchmark

TAIPEI, TAIWAN: According to the industry research institute LEDinside, in June 2009, Taiwan’s listed LED manufacturers recorded total revenue of NT$565.2 billion a 9.5 percent growth compared to NT$516 billion in May (+4.7 percent YoY). Considering the past experience, the demand for the hot season is likely to extend through September and October.

LED chip makers’ total revenue amounted to NT$2.453 billion, up by 13.9 percent MoM in June; and LED packagers posted NT$3.198 billion in revenue, a 6.4 percent growth MoM.Source: LEDInside

Based on LEDinside's observation of the market dynamics, current order visibility is at approximately four weeks. As for upstream chip makers, Blu-ray chips are still in tight supply. Judging from the rate of production ramp up from upstream manufacturers, Blu-ray chip short supply is not likely to ease until the end of the year.

Meanwhile, as downstream LED packagers have entered into the traditionally hot season, demand for conventional cell phone and Smartphone handsets expanded. The introduction of new LED NB models will continue to push up the demand for LED backlighting

In June, the total revenue of Taiwan’s LED chip makers was up by a whopping 13.9 percent MoM to NT$2.453 billion, (YoY -25.7 percent). As for the individual players, spurred by LED TV orders, upstream chip makers such Epistar and FOREPI posted revenues that surpassed the performance level of the same time last year.

Epistar's Blu-ray and high-brightness quaternion are currently running at full utilization, while the conventional quaternion utilization is still maintained at around 70 percent.

As a result of the fully-loaded utilization of Blu-ray, revenue growth in June is primarily generated from May’s deferred shipments. FOREPI recorded NT$168 million in revenue, up by 4 percent MoM, with its 27 existing MOCVD utilization close to 100%; its June09 revenue paralleled the standard of last year.

Downstream LED packagers posted total sales revenue of NT$3.199 billion (up by 6.6 percent MoM and 7.7 percent YoY). Packaging output has surpassed that of May08. Thanks to robust demand from the lighting sector, medium- and large-sized backlight, various packagers such as Edison, Ledtech, Unity Opto and Light House Tech celebrated significant revenue growth.Source: LEDInside

Leading packager Everlight maintained at NT$908 million; encouraged by the high demand level in the traditionally hot season, its monthly revenue may return to the NT$ 1 billion mark. Edison Opto also posted NT$150 million in revenue, up by 15 percent MoM, and a whopping 60 percent growth compared to the same time last year.

The outstanding performance is mainly attributed to increasing LED streetlamp demand, the 1W and 3W high-power LED shipments; total revenue hit a record high.