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Politics : Formerly About Applied Materials -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sam Citron who wrote (41311)	1/5/2001 9:43:46 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 70976

Acer, Chi Mei See TFT-LCD Shipments Pick Up January 5, 2001 (TAIPEI) -- Acer Display Technology Inc. and Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp. look set to remain the two largest TFT-LCD makers in Taiwan. Acer Display delivered 1.159 million TFT-LCD panels between January and November of 2000, more than any of its rivals, while CME saw its year-to-November TFT-LCD panel shipments hit 773,000 pieces. Both Acer Display and CME expect their sales and shipments to double in 2001. Following a successful internal restructure, Acer Display racked up NT$13.68 billion from its year-to-November sales, equivalent to 90 percent of its annual target. The company should have no trouble achieving its forecast annual target of 1.3 million panels, thereby preserving its position as Taiwan's largest TFT-LCD maker. The pick-up in Acer Display's sales and shipments towards the end of the year has offset the effects of the shortage of TFT-LCD driver ICs in the second half of the year, which forced the company to cut back its shipments significantly in July, August and October. Up to now Acer Display's production has been dominated by 13.3-inch TFT-LCD panels, which account for more than 60 percent of the company's total shipments. Acer Display said that production of 14.1-inch TFT-LCD production would exceed its 13.3-inch panel production soon, and expects to begin shipping 200,000 14.1-inch TFT-LCD panels a month in March or April 2001. It is also confident of becoming the world's second largest 17-inch TFT-LCD panel maker in 2001, after Korea's Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Acer Display predicted that its sales would reach more than NT$33 billion and shipments would hit NT$28 billion in the coming year, double its performance in 2000. Since August, Taiwan's second largest TFT-LCD maker CME has reported all-time sales highs for four months in a row, and its October 2000 shipments even beat Acer Display's for the first time. The company met more than 85 percent of its annual shipment target during the first eleven months. Shipments to Japan, its main market, will fall in December due to the holiday season, and the company may see its December shipments drop to at most 120,000 pieces. However, the impact on the company's annual performance will be slight. For 2001, the company expected that it would be able to ship between 2.5 million and 3 million pieces, and would achieve sales of around NT$25 billion. 14.1-inch TFT-LCD panels will account for half the company's production capacity, 15-inch panels for a further 30 percent, and 17-inch panels for the remaining 20 percent. Related story: Taiwan's TFT-LCD Makers Expand on Improving Global Growth (Commercial Times, Taiwan) Subject 50522