Date:11/10/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/10/11/stories/2005101102230400.htm

Back IDC sees LCD monitor sales surging ahead

Our Bureau

The top six branded monitor market vendors together made up 79.4 per cent of the overall standalone monitor sales in the Asia-Pacific region in the first half of 2005.

New Delhi , Oct. 10

SALES of liquid crystal display (LCD) PC monitors in the overall Asia-Pacific region are expected to surpass that of cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors by early 2006, an impressive milestone considering the region includes the rural areas of low PC-penetration markets such as India and Indonesia, a recent report by global consultant IDC has said.

"The total Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan) PC monitor market totalled 18.4 million units in the first half of 2005, representing a gain of 14.4 per cent from the same period last year. Branded market vendors (vendors that focus on standalone monitors) are growing steadily both sequentially and year-on-year, but pale in comparison to growth in the original equipment manufacturers (OEM) market," the report by IDC said.

Overall, sales for LCD monitors are expected to overtake CRTs as early as first quarter of 2006 in Asia-Pacific it said.

"Although the CRT form factors across Asia-Pacific is expected to see a 4.3-per cent decline in compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) through to 2009, the healthy LCD growth will be more than sufficient to offset the CRT decline, resulting in the overall region posting a projected 6.4 per cent CAGR over the same period," Mr Reuben Tan, Senior Analyst, IDC Asia-Pacific Personal Systems Research, said.

He said despite vendors facing spot shortages of mainstream LCD panels, overall supply across the region is expected to lead to ramp-up and exceed demand from the fourth quarter of 2005 onwards. "The oversupply may exist until the next major round of price cuts for large screen LCD monitors, which will in turn create accelerated uptake," he said.

The top six branded monitor market vendors together made up 79.4 per cent of the overall standalone monitor sales in the Asia-Pacific region in the first half of 2005. Samsung remained the incumbent by far, while Philips managed to hang on to the second spot, with an aggressive and expanding LG Electronics snapping at its heels, and a mere 0.2 per cent share separating the two vendors.

On the OEM market front, Lenovo led the pack, with Hewlett-Packard and Dell following in that order. Lenovo's integration with IBM's Personal Computing Division served to stamp the joint entity's presence in firm number one position in the OEM market.

India, Indonesia and the Philippines are expected to show a positive CAGR for CRTs through 2009.