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Technology Stocks : Applied Materials No-Politics Thread (AMAT) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Proud_Infidel who wrote (7117)	9/9/2003 2:12:55 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 25522

Samsung Electronics says LCD price, demand strong BLOOMBERG Tuesday, Sep 09, 2003,Page 12 Samsung Electronics Co, the world's largest maker of liquid crystal display panels used in notebook computers, monitors and televisions, said demand and prices for the screens remain "strong." "We can't make enough of these panels at the moment," said Chu Woo Sik, head of investor relations at Samsung in Seoul. Chu said lower prices have attracted new customers and lower-than- expected production from Taiwanese plants has constrained supply. Samsung and rivals such as Sharp Corp and LG.Philips LCD Co expressed concern earlier this year that investment in more productive plants by AU Optronics Corp (¤Í¹F¥ú¹q) and other Taiwanese manu-facturers would cause oversupply. The new plants have yet to hit full output while price declines have tempted more computer users to trade in their bulky cathode ray tube-based displays for panels that take up a fraction of the space. "Because of lower LCD prices we are seeing the expansion of demand," Chu said. "That's a consistent experience. The demand for LCD panels is very price elastic," he said. Chu said Samsung expects prices and demand to remain at the current level for the rest of the year. Some analysts agree. "There is a continued sense of strength, that this is not a one of two quarters occurrence, that it is clearly at least a twelve-month phenomenon," said Dan Heyler, head of technology research at Merrill Lynch & Co in Hong Kong. Rising demand has kept prices stable, contrary to forecasts of declines. The price of a 15-inch panel has gained as much as US$10 from the beginning of this year to about $190, according to Samsung. LCD makers are looking at the television market to increase sales. Samsung is seeing demand for screens measuring 17 inches to 20 inches diagonally, Chu said. Screens measuring above 30 inches diagonally are still too expensive and will "take some time" to come down in price enough to attract consumers, he said. Still, demand for LCD TVs is helping to limit supply of the screens for computers and preventing a supply glut. TV screens can be as large as 20 inches, meaning that they take more of the "mother glasses" that 15-inch or 17-inch computer displays are cut from, said Jun Koh an analyst at Daewoo Securities in Seoul who has an "overweight" recommendation on Samsung. "The balance between supply and demand is going to remain stable until at least the end of the year," he said. taipeitimes.com