TrendForce：Taiwanese LED Manufacturers Deliver Solid Performance in Aug. 2013 as Market Rebounds

Affects from the termination of China’s Home Appliance Subsidiary Programs in 1H13 caused LED backlight market demands to ease in June and July this year, according to LEDinside, a green energy research subsidiary of global research institute TrendForce. However, some chip manufacturers have reflected a rebounding market, due to stable market orders in 2H13 and several TV manufacturers inventory restock demands. In 2H13, the LED market might show signs of moderate growth during peak season in 3Q, and off-peak season in 4Q will deliver a solid performance.

In Aug. 2013, listed Taiwanese LED manufacturers’ total revenue increased 1.7% to NT$ 11.14 billion (US$ 375.29 million). Out of these, Taiwanese LED chip manufacturers’ revenues reached NT$ 3.95 billion, while package manufacturer revenues was NT$ 7.18 billion.

Chip and Package Manufacturers Revenues Remain Stable with Christmas Season Stock Up Effect and Stable Lighting Application Development

LED chip manufacturers are benefiting from Christmas and Chinese Lunar New Year inventory stockup, which has led to rebounding demands in the backlight market. LED chip manufacturers revenues were stable in Aug. 2013 as a result. For instance, chip manufacturers including Epistar and FOREPI revenues were stable in August, and reached NT$ 1.97 billion and NT$ 420 million respectively.

In addition, the market should pay continuous attention to the future market development of San’an Optoelectronics and FOREPI, said LEDinside. San’an Optoelectronics and FOREPI’s joint venture was approved by Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), and the two companies will be procuring and making technological developments together. There might be more partnerships between Taiwan and Chinese manufacturers in the future. Furthermore, chip price trends will be affected by Chinese manufacturers’ significant production capacity increase. The Chinese market is likely to impact second tier Taiwanese chip manufacturers, and result in more companies following the footsteps of Chi Mei Lighting Technology Corp. (CMLT) and Chiplus Semiconductor Corp. of exiting the LED market.

LED package manufacturers revenue performances were polarized. Some LED manufacturers benefited from lighting and smartphone application demands that led to continual revenue growth. For these manufacturers, Aug. 2013 revenues were partially supported by the launch of new handheld devices in Sept., such as iPad, Kindle Fire and Nexus 7. Handheld devices include both smartphones and tablets. However, manufacturers with a LED-backlit TV focus underperformed. Still, Everlight had outstanding Aug. revenue performance, mainly due to its LED streetlight bids, and recognized revenue from acquired German lighting manufacturer WOFI. On the other hand, Lextar and Unity Opto Technology Co. August revenues were affected by waning LED-backlit TV demands, and Edison Opto’s Inc. revenue growths also slowed down. In hopes of raising its market revenue and market share, Edison Opto announced it has started expanding PLCC and COB production capacity. While Advanced Optoelectronic Technology Inc. (AOT) revenues soared 14.7% to NT$ 660 million as it benefited from Nichia OEM orders.