LCD driver IC market demand in March is expected to rebound as there are more working days than the previous month and Taiwan's TFT LCD panel makers have started to increase their inventories as they project demand to rise, according to industry sources. Therefore, Taiwan-based LCD driver IC designers, including Novatek Microelectronics, Sitronix Technology, Orise Technology and Raydium Semiconductor, are expected to see their revenues increase, the sources pointed out.
According to some Taiwan IC designers, second quarter sales are projected to rise higher than this quarter, as global TFT panel market demand shows signs of growth.
Major players such as Novatek and Himax already have high market shares in the large-size panel market, and while they are trying to increase their presence in the small-size driver IC market, it might be a challenge for the design firms to boost their sales further from a current monthly high level of around NT$3 billion.
Smaller players including Sitronix, Orise, Raydium and Eureka, on the other hand, have greater potential to show growth. Orise, for example, currently targets the small- to medium-size LCD driver IC market and while its major source of revenues is the digital camera market, the company has reportedly received orders from Nokia for handset driver ICs for the vendor's N series. Mass production will start from the second quarter and Orise's monthly sales are projected to rise even further in March or April. The cell phone driver IC product line may become Orise's main source of revenues, according to market sources.
Another smaller player expected to enjoy growth is Sitronix. Sitronix's revenues have totaled NT$1.114 billion so far this year, growing by more than 70% compared with same period last year. While its February revenues were down sequentially, Sitronix's March revenues are expected to rebound to NT$600 million as orders for its handset product line are increasing, the sources pointed out. Sitronix's off-season first quarter revenues are expected to exceed NT$1.7 billion, a slight drop by around 2% compared with the high-season fourth quarter of 2007.
Article translated by Angelica Teng
