Quarterly Decline in 40-inch Range LCD and PDP TV Prices Eases to 4.0%

-42-inch PDP TV Consumer Prices Hit $30 per Inch
-42-inch PDP TV Maintains Price Competitiveness of 12% over 40/42" LCD TV

In its flat TV price report, Displaybank (CEO Peter Kwon, www.displaybank.com), a display research institute, reported the prices for LCD and PDP TVs for the fourth quarter of 2007.

The average selling price for 32-inch LCD TVs were $828 per unit and $26 per inch as of the fourth quarter of 2007, stabilizing with a quarter-on-quarter drop of 2.4%, and amid the tightened supply of panels since the third quarter of last year, panel prices are predicted to remain rosy for the time being. Prices for 40-inch LCD TV slid slightly from the previous quarter to $1,412, with prices per inch at around $35, while 42-inch LCD TV prices dropped 3.7% quarter-on-quarter to $1,413.

As were in the sector for LCD TVs, the PDP TV market has also entered a price stabilization phase since the second quarter. This is because prices per inch have approached the $30 level, spurring full-fledged demand. The average selling price for 42-inch PDP TVs were down 2% quarter-on-quarter to $1,253 in the fourth quarter of 2007, while that for 50-inch PDP TVs were $1,896, a negligible decline of 0.4% for the corresponding period. Given the prediction that this price stabilization will be sustained, the PDP camp is required to retain cost competitiveness as earliest and take this opportunity to turn profitable, said Hong Ju Sik, researcher at Displaybank.

Looking at the price gap between the 42-inch PDP TVs and the 40/42-inch LCD TV as of the fourth quarter of 2007, PDP TV companies' strategic pricing policies have allowed them to have the competitive edge of about 13% over LCD TVs.

The future competition between LCD TV and PDP TV is likely to face another phase. LCD TV vendors have proceeded with a 50-inch range super-large size LCD TV business in line with LCD panel manufacturers' aggressive launches of eighth-generation (8G) fabrication lines, and thus they cannot avoid a price battle with PDP TV firms, while the PDP TV camp is also expanding its competition range by launching 30-inch range PDP TVs. Nevertheless, consumer prices for flat TVs, which have plunged at a yearly ratio of 30% to 40% over the past two to three years, are likely to continue to stabilize. The majority of display companies will make a turnaround in 2008, and it's time for them to make sure careful investments focusing on profits in advance, researcher Hong noted.

Inquiry: Researcher Jusy Hong (jusy@displaybank.com 031-704-7188, ext. 113)

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