By Greg Gao

(JW Insights) Sep 8 -- The first half year financial reports of China’s top five panel manufacturers BOE, TCL Technology, Tianma Microelectronics(深天马), Visionox(维信诺), and Everdisplay Optronics(和辉光电) indicate that most panel manufacturers were unable to turn losses into profits in the period facing specific operational pressures from factors like inflation and a sluggish consumer electronics market.

However, in the second quarter, the liquid crystal display panel market showed signs of recovery, leading to a gradual improvement in the manufacturers’ performance. The OLED manufacturers also experienced a general increase in shipments, significantly enhancing their market positions, according to a JW Insights report.

The third quarter is the usual peak season for display products and should drive price increases for LCD television panels. China’s flexible OLED shipments are also on the rise, and some panel manufacturers may achieve a turnaround in their financial performance, said the report.

The display firms attribute their poor performance to the lackluster global economy. TCL’s financial report showed that in the first half of the year, ongoing international geopolitical tensions and persistently high inflation levels have significantly slowed global economic growth and dampened display product demands. The complex and challenging external environment has increased uncertainty in economic development in China. BOE also revealed the same factor and low consumer confidence.

Driven by the continuous rise in TV LCD panel prices, some panel makers’ performance began to improve in the second quarter, and their losses decreased significantly from the previous quarter. 

Entering the third quarter, the prices of large-size display products continued to rise, the prices of some medium-size products started to bottom out, and the prices of small-size products stabilized.

Unlike the LCD panel market, China’s AMOLED market is entering a period of rapid development. With the improvement of yield rate, the release of production capacity, and the increasing orders by mobile phone brands, AMOLED shipments continued to rise in China. 

According to the financial reports of those panel manufacturers, in the first half of the year, Everdisplay Optronics’s AMOLED shipments increased by over 30% year-on-year.

BOE’s flexible AMOLED shipments exceeded 50 million units, marking an almost 80% year-on-year growth.

Tianma Microelectronics, in the first half of the year, secured a spot among the top three domestic market leaders in the smartphone flexible AMOLED segment, with shipments growing by over 400%.

Visionox also ranked as the world’s fourth-largest supplier in the AMOLED smartphone panel market and second in the domestic market.

In the second half of the year, OLED is poised to continue its rapid penetration into various application markets. It is projected that by 2023, OLED’s market penetration in the smartphone sector will exceed 50%.

With technological advancements and cost reduction, mid-sized displays will become a crucial growth market for AMOLED. AMOLED is gradually expanding its presence from small-sized applications such as smartphones and smart wearables to mid-sized applications like automotive displays, tablets, and laptops, according to data from market research firm Trendforce.