TrendForce：Benefiting from smart phone and TV stocking demand, LED manufacturers gradually increases revenue in January 2013

According to LEDinside, the LED research division of TrendForce, the total revenue of Taiwanese listed LED manufacturers in January 2013 is 8,220 million NTD (+21.5%MoM, +39.9%YoY). LEDinside indicated that in addition to the fourth quarter of 2012 (traditional off season), the TV manufacturers’ delay in stocking will also cause difficulties in the fourth quarter revenue of LED manufacturers. In January, however, LED manufacturers have started to benefit from smartphone and TV stocking demand. In short, LED backlight market is starting to rise, and the revenue of Taiwanese upstream and downstream firms are also increasing impressively.

Followed by commercial lighting stocking demand, LED chip and package manufacturers benefit from the rising backlight market

Due to upstream LED epitaxy manufacturers facing the increasing backlight market stocking demands, the revenue of Taiwanese listed LED chip manufacturers has increased to 3,090 million NTD (+23.7%MoM, +32.7%YoY). The revenue of Taiwanese listed LED package manufacturers has also increased to 5,130 million NTD (+20.17%MoM, +44.6%YoY); not only did the revenue of Lextar Electronics Corp. increase due to the merging with Wellypower Optronics Corp., package manufacturers’ capacities was were also boosted by the increasing market demands.

Due to the launching of Samsung’s new direct-type LED TV models in the second quarter of 2013, a stocking effect appeared in the first quarter; compared with the same quarter in 2012, Taiwanese manufacturers have extricated themselves from the economic slowdown and started to increase their revenue. Benefiting from Korean manufacturers’s OEM order, Epistar Corp. and Formosa Epitaxy Incorporation Inc. significantly increased their revenue; it is expected that the order visibility continue till extends to the end of the first season. Moreover, due to the fact that the quality of chips manufactured by Taiwanese manufacturers are better than that of Chinese manufacturers, the increasing shipments of Chinese TV vendors such as Skyworth, Hisense, TCL, Konka, and Changhong Electronic Corp. may be an opportunity for Taiwanese chip manufacturers to enter the Chinese TV backlight supply chain.

The stocking demand for another backlight demanding market- smartphones is also increasing. Not only improve was backlight brightness improved, but also raise shipment forecast was also raised by 28% in 2013. Amongst those, apart from international brand manufacturers, Chinese manufacturers also took advantage of this trend and started to rise, becoming potential clients of Taiwanese LED manufacturers. Generally speaking, both chip and packaging manufacturers with a certain proportion of revenue that comes from the smart phone and TV supply chain have achieved significant increase in their revenue. Extricating from the gloomy year of 2012, chip revenue was boosted up to 1,350 million NTD; in addition, Formosa Epitaxy Inc. and Genesis Photonics Inc. have also achieved 300 million NTD and 270 million NTD respectively.

As for the lighting market, the second season is the traditional peak season of commercial lighting. Facing the challenge of intra-industry competition, LED package manufacturers are planning to release new products, and we expect the LED package to fall mainly between 160lm/W~180lm/W at the mass production level.

LEDinside also indicated that considering about the broad LED product applications including commercial and outdoor lighting along with the technical advantages of Taiwanese manufacturers, the future integrating focus of the LED industry will possibly include joint projects performed by Taiwanese LED chip manufactures, package manufacturers, and Chinese lighting manufacturers. Under the integrating and marketing adjustments, second-tier manufacturers will be facing another market challenge.