Plasma display panel (PDP) shipments built upon record Q3?07 shipments to reach another new record in Q4?07, exceeding forecasts by rising 42% Q/Q and an astounding 62% Y/Y to a record of almost 4.4 million units, according DisplaySearch.
Greater availability of 1080p resolution panels, which maintained 11% share of all shipments and grew 46% Q/Q and over 1300% Y/Y?42" 1080p PDP shipments exceeded 50" PDP shipments for the first time in Q4?07.
Better PDP pricing than LCD, with 42" HD PDP panels 20% less than comparable LCD pricing- PDP pricing is also falling faster Q/Q than comparable LCD panel sizes.
32" PDPs selling well in developing regions and 32" PDP share more than doubling to nearly 11% of PDP shipments
Generally better plasma panel availability than LCD going into the holiday season.
"Despite the very strong unit growth, revenues were only slightly higher, rising just 32% Q/Q and 3% Y/Y in Q4?07 to $1.9 billion as ASP declines impacted revenue growth potential. In fact, blended average selling prices fell 36% Y/Y for the second quarter in a row. This was the third straight quarter of 30%+ price declines as supply continues to exceed demand and as a greater share of lower-priced 32? panels drove blended prices down," noted Paul Gagnon, DisplaySearch Director of North America TV Research.
By supplier, Matsushita - which changes its name to Panasonic officially on October 1, 2008?remained the top supplier. Their share grew from 33% to 37%, with the strongest share growth coming from HD resolution panels. Their share of 1080p panels rose to nearly 80% in Q4?07 from 77% in Q3?07. LGE overtook Samsung SDI for the #2 position with a one point share gain to 28% as Samsung SDI slipped from 29% to 25%. LGE?s 32" PDP introduction has proven to be a strong volume booster, contributing to more than a third of their share and becoming their second most popular size. Though Samsung SDI slipped to #3 overall, they continued to lead the 50" PDP segment and were #2 at 1080p, so they had the second strongest Y/Y growth behind LGE. All other suppliers lost share in Q4?07, although Hitachi hit its highest shipment volumes since Q1?06 thanks largely to 50" introductions.