Samsung Electronics anticipates a recovery in the terminal market in 2024 and reportedly plans to increase the production of televisions and smartphones by 10% annually, potentially driving the recovery of markets such as semiconductors, components, and displays.
Taiwan-based materials supplier U-Best Innovative Technology has begun shipping its hard coat (HC) films to clients in China in the third quarter of 2023. As the market for foldable smartphones continues to grow, the company expects HC film orders to pick up early next year despite a slight drop in the fourth quarter of 2023; moreover, high order volumes are expected for the third quarter of 2024 as smartphone brands release new models, says U-Best general manager Huang Nan-Hau.
Taiwanese panel maker AU Optronics (AUO) is making a significant foray into the automotive market with innovative smart cockpit solutions featuring MicroLED display technology. The company's recent acquisition of Behr-Hella Thermocontrol GmbH (BHTC) and its upcoming inaugural appearance at CES 2024 are key milestones in this strategic expansion.
Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations have become a key focus for corporations. Tex Year Industries Chairperson and CEO Donald Hsiao said that the firm has been developing green materials early on, and green materials are key in carbon reduction efforts. This might allow the firm to capture the lucrative carbon reduction business under the current ESG trend.
E Ink Holdings (EIH) Chairperson Johnson Lee recently revised the firm's revenue outlook for 2023 for the third time in its earnings call on November 15. The firm's projection went from the previous forecast of no growth or single-digit decline to a high single-digit or low double-digit decline this time. He also extended his projection for the industry downturn, with the lowest point anticipated in the first quarter of 2024.
The landscape of the IC design industry presents a mixed picture regarding the recent upturn in the mobile phone and PC markets. While some IC design companies have delivered promising revenue growth amid positive forecasts from major mobile SoC vendors like MediaTek and Qualcomm, cautious voices within the IC design sector express reservations about the transient nature of the current market recovery, and some industry insiders have asserted that the rebound may not materialize until the second half of 2024.
German company Merck announced that the Dusseldorf District Court in Germany has ruled that Beijing Bayi Space LCD Technology (Bayi Space) has infringed on Merck's LCD mixture patent and will be banned from selling LCD display products with the infringing liquid crystal (LC) mixture in Germany.
Display driver IC (DDI) manufacturer Fitipower stated that compared to the second quarter, third-quarter revenues saw a slight decline and have nearly stabilized. The main reason is that while small-sized DDI saw a demand recovery surface in the third quarter, the inventory replenishment of medium-sized customers like automotive and industrial control applications concluded. Additionally, replenishments for large-size applications like TVs also hit the brakes in the second quarter. This back-and-forth offset of shipments resulted in revenue failing to continue to grow.
AUO recently divided the firm's operations into eight main business groups to expand its vertical businesses. The decision is in line with the firm's "dual-axis transformation" strategy to provide more value-added and specialized products.
In an era defined by global economic shifts, supply chain complexities, and ever-increasing uncertainty, companies must constantly adapt to survive and thrive. One company at the forefront of this transformative journey is Kinaxis, a Canadian supply chain solution provider co-founded by Duncan Klett in 1984. Kinaxis is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, with a market cap of nearly US$3 billion as of November 2023.
In response to the strong sales of Huawei's Mate 60 series smartphones, JNTC, the South Korean supplier of curved mobile cover glass, is gearing up for significant revenue growth in 2023. The company is expanding its manufacturing base in Vietnam to meet the surging demand, which can be attributed to Huawei's flagship Mate 60 Pro.
Contrel Technology, an LCD equipment specialist, has received orders for microLED and panel-level packaging from Taiwan's top-two panel makers, AUO and Innolux, which will drive revenue growth in 2024.
Due to adverse factors such as weak demand, sluggish inventory destocking, and high inflation, Coretronic projects lower shipments across both of its main product lines in the fourth quarter of 2023, as well as a decline in total shipments in 2023 compared to the previous year.
AUO Corp. released its consolidated revenues in the third quarter of 2023 on October 31, which totaled NT$70.11 billion, up by 10.7% quarter-over-quarter. AUO's net loss attributable to owners of the Company for the third quarter of 2023 was NT$0.98 billion, with a basic EPS(2) of -NT$0.13, further narrowing the losses from Q2 (-NT$0.63).
Taiwan-based physical vapor deposition (PVD) foil and film manufacturing firm Univacco Technology said it is seeing orders stabilizing in the second half of 2023, as inventory adjustment is coming to an end.
Where to find entrepreneurial opportunities? They can be found from electromagnetic waves, especially at the application level, where different wavelengths can be utilized at different times for different application extensions, thus further stimulating entrepreneurial inspiration, according to Kenneth Tai, chairman of the Photonics Industry & Technology Development Association (PIDA).
Cars have been transformed into the third living space with smart cockpit technology development. As more display panels are used in a cabin, data privacy, and driver safety have become critical issues that carmakers and suppliers are concerned about.
As major players in the display panel industry increasingly turn to niche markets in the face of increased competition in recent years, small- and middle-sized panel module companies have had to adapt their strategies to cope with the squeeze. For Powertip Technology, this has involved pairing their displays with motherboards.
LCD panel component suppliers are aware of the volatility of demand in the fourth quarter of 2023, although overall operations in the second half of this year are expected to beat the first, according to industry sources.
Manufacturing is the cornerstone of many Asian countries. Profet AI helps manufacturers improve efficiency by empowering their employees with AI. The Taiwan-based AI software developer has launched an ambitious plan to expand in Asia, especially China, Japan and Vietnam.
Affected by the destocking effort of Apple, its supply chain partners are facing the pressure of sales decline in the second half of 2023. Touch panel suppliers TPK and GiS are also cautious over the sales outlook of the 4th quarter. However, with the destocking effort coming to an end, they have said that market demand is likely to crawl out of the bottom in 2024.
Taiwan's E Ink Holdings (EIH), staying at the forefront of revolutionizing color electronic paper applications, is on track to volume produce its groundbreaking E Ink Spectra 6 color e-paper technology in 2024.This technology and the innovative E Ink Kaleido 3 color printing e-paper technology have both been honored with the prestigious "2023 SDIA Award" in the gold category by the Smart Display Industrial Alliance (SDIA) in Taiwan.
Meta's latest AI products include second gen smart glasses that can answer questions, co branded with Ray-Ban, along with Quest 3 VR headsets and robots capable of producing realistic images. The new smart glasses are closer to regular glasses than their predecessor and come with video recording functions in addition to photo-taking.
