DisplaySearch Reports Global Q2'05 TV Revenues Rise 10% on Strong Flat Panel Growth -- Samsung Overtakes Sony on a Revenue Basis.

AUSTIN, Texas -- DisplaySearch, the worldwide leader in display market research and consulting, released Q2'05 TV shipments and revenues for all TV technologies and brands by region and size this week in its Quarterly Global TV Shipment and Forecast Report. TV shipments were down 14% Q/Q and 2% Y/Y on seasonal weakness in China and CRT weakness in Europe. However, due to a 7% Q/Q and 12% Y/Y increase in average selling prices (ASPs) on strong flat panel growth, total TV revenues increased 10% to $17.3B.

Flat panel TV shipments were up 26% Q/Q and 132% Y/Y to 5.13M units in Q2'05. The flat panel share of the TV market on a unit basis reached 13% in Q2'05, up from 6% in Q2'04 and 9% in Q1'05. On a revenue basis, the flat panel share surged to 47% on 18% Q/Q and 85% Y/Y growth to $8.2B, up from a 28% share in Q2'04 and 37% share in Q1'05.

In terms of shipments by technology:

--CRT TV unit shipments declined 10% Y/Y and 18% Q/Q to 32.75M as they lost ground to LCDs. Its unit share remained dominant however at 84%, down from 88% in Q1'05 and 92% in Q2'04. CRTs are losing ground primarily at the larger sizes, which caused its average size to decline 2% Q/Q and Y/Y in Q2'05 to 22.7". With China suffering a seasonal decline after a strong Q1'05, ROW accounted for 47% of the CRT TV market and was the only region to enjoy a Y/Y increase led by the Korean manufacturers. LGE was the top branded CRT TV manufacturer in Q2'05 with a 10% share, overtaking TTE. Samsung jumped to #2 with TTE falling to #3. On a revenue basis, however, TTE remained #1 followed by LGE and Samsung with Sony falling from #2 to #5. Regionally on a revenue basis, Panasonic was #1 in Japan, Funai was #1 in North America, Philips was #1 in Europe, Konka was #1 in China and LGE led in ROW.

--LCD TV shipments rose 27% Q/Q and 148% Y/Y to slightly over 4M units, a record high. Its unit share exceeded 10% for the first time at 10.3%, up from 4% in Q2'04 and 7% in Q1'05, while its revenue share rose from 13% in Q2'04 and 22% in Q1'05 to 29% in Q2'05. Despite a 5% Q/Q and 13% Y/Y increase in average size to 24", LCD TV ASPs fell 5% Q/Q and 4% Y/Y under significant pricing pressure which contributed to its rapid growth. All regions except ROW enjoyed double-digit sequential growth with North America rising the fastest up 69% to over 1M units for the first time. Europe remained the largest region for LCD TVs with a 38% share followed by North America at 27% and Japan at 23%. By size, 32" 1366 x 768 LCD TVs became the single most popular LCD TV in Q2'05 with a 21% share, up from 13% followed by 20" 640 x 480 with an 18% share. Sharp remained the #1 brand with an 18% unit share and 20% revenue share worldwide. On a unit basis, Philips/Magnavox, Samsung, Sony and LGE remained #2 - #5. On a revenue basis, Philips/Magnavox remained #2, Samsung overtook Sony for #3, Sony fell to #4 and LGE remained #5. Regionally on a revenue basis, Sharp led in Japan and North America, Philips led in Europe, Hisense led in China and Samsung led in ROW.

--Plasma TV shipments grew 24% Q/Q and 89% to a record 1.13M units while revenues rose 13% and 37% Y/Y to $3.1B. Its unit and revenue shares reached record levels, with units rising from 2.0% in Q1'05 to 2.9% in Q2'05 and revenues growing from 15% in Q1'05 to 18% in Q2'05. All regions except China enjoyed double-digit Q/Q growth with Japan rising the fastest up 77% after seasonally weak Q1'05. Europe remained the largest plasma TV market on a unit basis with a 33% share followed by North America at 30% and ROW at 15%. On a revenue basis, however, North America was the largest market with a 33% share due to increased penetration of HD and larger sizes. The plasma TV share of the 40"-44" TV market surged from 64% to 76% while its share of the 50"-54" market jumped from 15% to 22%. 42" ED remained dominant with a 56% share followed by 42"-43" HD with a 23% share and 50" at 9%. Panasonic drove the plasma TV market in Q2'05 on 90% Q/Q growth boosting its share from 17% in Q1'05 to 27% in Q2'05. It remained #1 worldwide followed by LGE, Samsung, Philips with Hitachi overtaking Pioneer for #5. Regionally on a revenue basis, Panasonic led in Japan, North America and Europe while Changhong led in China and LGE led in ROW.

--Microdisplay RPTVs were up 49% Y/Y but fell 11% Q/Q on channel inventory concerns and loss of share to plasma TVs. Worldwide, all microdisplay technologies (DLP, LCD and LCOS) declined sequentially, with DLP down 1%, LCD down 16% and LCOS falling 27%. As a result, the DLP share rose from 39% to 43%, with LCD RPTVs leading with a 53% share, down from 56%. Regionally, North America continues to dominate this category, earning an 84% share in Q2'05, down from 86% in Q1'05 although shipments fell 13% Q/Q while rising 52% Y/Y. Microdisplay RPTVs were particularly dominant in the 60"+ market, holding a 69% share, up from 61%. The unit and revenue rankings remained the same as last quarter with Sony leading followed by Samsung, Panasonic, Mitsubishi and Hitachi. However, the gap between the leaders narrowed, with Sony's unit share falling from 44% to 36% and Samsung's share rising from 21% to 25%.

--CRT RPTV shipments fell 37% Q/Q and 39% Y/Y to 531K units and a 1.4% unit share, down from 1.9% in Q1'05 and 2.2% in Q2'04. All regions declined at a double-digit rate on both a Q/Q and Y/Y basis. China suffered the largest Q/Q decline due to seasonal weakness and gains by aggressively priced plasma TVs. North America remained the leading region for CRT RPTVs with a 54% share, up from 50%, while ROW overtook China with a 19% to 18% advantage. CRT RPTVs continued to lead the 50"-54" TV market with a 40% share, down from 52% and slightly above microdisplay RPTVs at 38%. TTE overtook Sony to become the top brand worldwide on a unit basis followed by Samsung, Sony, Toshiba and Hitachi. On a revenue basis, TTE also overtook Sony which fell to #2 with Samsung rising to #3, Toshiba falling to #4 and Hitachi remaining #5. By region on a revenue basis, TTE led in North America, Samsung led in Europe, Changhong remained #1 in China and Samsung remained #1 in ROW.

In terms of worldwide TV shipments and revenues by supplier, Samsung overtook Sony for the first time on a revenue basis as shown in Table 1. Samsung was in the top 3 on a revenue basis in all TV technologies. Panasonic's strong plasma TV position propelled it to the #2 position worldwide, just slightly behind Samsung. Sony fell to #3 as it lost share in most TV technologies.

On a worldwide unit basis by supplier, LGE overtook TTE to earn the top position worldwide with a 9.6% share on 13% growth as shown in Table 2. LGE benefited from the top position in CRT TVs and top 5 positions in flat panel TVs.

Table 1   Worldwide Total TV Revenue Share

                                                       Share
             Q2 '05                            ----------------------
             Ranking                 Brand       Q1 '05     Q2 '05
--------------------------------- ------------ ---------- -----------
               1                  SAMSUNG            8.2%        9.9%
               2                  PANASONIC          6.8%        9.7%
               3                  SONY              11.6%        8.8%
               4                  LGE                6.6%        8.3%
               5                  PHILIPS            7.6%        8.1%
                                  OTHERS            59.2%       55.2%
                                  TOTAL              100%        100%
--------------------------------- ------------ ---------- -----------


Table 2   Worldwide Total TV Unit Share

                                                        Share
             Q2 '05                             ---------------------
             Ranking                  Brand       Q1 '05     Q2 '05
---------------------------------- ------------ ---------- ----------
                1                  LGE                7.5%       9.8%
                2                  SAMSUNG            7.2%       9.0%
                3                  TTE                8.1%       7.5%
                4                  PHILIPS            6.1%       6.8%
                5                  SONY               6.6%       5.7%
                                   OTHERS            64.5%      61.2%
                                   TOTAL              100%       100%
---------------------------------- ------------ ---------- ----------

For regional analysis, please visit: http://www.displaysearch.com/press/?id=393

DisplaySearch's Quarterly Global TV Shipment and Forecast Report also features a rolling 16-quarter shipment forecast by region, technology, size and resolution as well as a rolling 16-quarter cost and price forecast. For more information on this report, please contact Arie Braun at DisplaySearch at 512-459-3126 or [e-mail].

The Quarterly Global TV Shipment and Forecast Report will be on display at DisplaySearch's exhibit booth at the upcoming HDTV Conference 2005: The Future of Television August 23-24, 2005 in Los Angeles, California at the Beverly Hilton. For more information, please contact Kendra Smith on registration, sponsorship and exhibits by calling 512-459-3126, ext. 107, emailing [e-mail] or visiting www.displaysearch.com/hdtvconference.

About DisplaySearch

DisplaySearch has a core team of 29 employees located in North America and Asia who produce a valued suite of market forecasts, technology assessments, surveys, studies and analyses, and they organize influential industry events worldwide. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, DisplaySearch has regional operations in Chicago, Hong Kong, Houston, Kyoto, San Diego, San Jose, Seoul, Shenzhen, Taipei and Tokyo, and the company is on the web at www.displaysearch.com.