LCD driver IC makers may see a slight monthly sales growth in the first quarter thanks to rush orders, while order visibility is still unclear since market demand remains sluggish. January sales for Novatek Microelectronics, Orise Technology and Sitronix Technology will only stay flat, and their first-quarter sales may have another 30% sequential decline, according to a Chinese-language Commercial Times report.
Despite that market watchers expect rush orders to have an impact on shipments, industry players are more conservative about the current market situation.
Novatek has seen better shipments in January than in December of 2008. Its sales proportion of large-size driver ICs dropped to 57%, while both mobile Internet devices (MIDs) and SoC products accounted for 20%. Orise expects sales in January to increase by several millions of units compared to December. Sitronix said its order visibility is less than one month and it may see inventory pressure again in the second quarter, the report noted.
Article translated by Meiling Chen
