LCDs Overtake and Outsell CRTs in Q3 2004!

AUSTIN, Texas - Dec. 9, 2004 - DisplaySearch, the worldwide leader in flat panel display (FPD) market research and consulting, indicated in its latest Quarterly Desktop Monitor Shipment and Forecast Report that worldwide LCD desktop monitor shipments rebounded in Q3'04, overtaking CRT monitors with a 50% to 49% advantage on 12% Q/Q and 31% Y/Y growth to 16.9 million units. While Q3'04 witnessed significant panel price reductions beginning in June, these prices were not passed along to consumers and corporate buyers at a street price level until later in Q3'04 due to high channel inventories, causing shipments to fall below 16% Q/Q growth expectations. Q4'04 LCD monitor shipments are expected to rise even faster, growing 18% Q/Q to 19.9M units to earn a 54% share.

The inability of the market to quickly adjust to the lower panel pricing helped accelerate CRT demand and sales in Q3'04, but not enough to allow CRTs to outsell LCDs as they did in Q2'04. CRT shipments did rise 3% Q/Q in Q3'04 to 16.4 million units and are expected to rise again in Q4'04 to 16.6 million units on steady demand from emerging countries and in the US where the sub $499 PC bundle became an important benchmark for the holiday season. With a sub $499 bundle now achieved with LCD based monitors, however, CRT monitor demand is expected to drop dramatically in 2005.

Additional highlights from the report include

• 17" LCD monitors accounted for 50% of the sales in Q3'04 while the 15" share dropped to 33.5%.
• The growth and anticipated growth of the wide aspect ratio displays, while still small in Q3'04, continues to be notable as seen in the announcement and shipment of Apple's new products, as well as Dell's 19" wide and 20" wide desktop monitor products entering the market.
• Of the mainstream LCD monitor sizes, 19" SXGA grew the most in Q3'04 at 22% and is projected to have the largest growth in Q4'04 up 27%, as the street prices reach new lows.
• 15" LCD monitor shipments are projected to grow just 3% in Q4'04, due to continued allocation shifts towards the larger size displays, which are more affordable than ever.
• With average street prices finally dropping in almost all categories by the end of Q3'04, the overall weighted average for LCD monitors dropped from $465 down to $440.

The Q3'04 LCD monitor supplier rankings and market share results are shown in the following table:

 Table 1: Top Five Q3'04 WW Desktop LCD Monitor Supplier Rankings and Share Rank Share --------------------------------------- # Brand Q2'04 Q3'04 Q2'04 Q3'04 ------------------------------------------------------ 1 Dell 1 1 17.6% 16.4% 2 Samsung 3 2 9.7% 10.3% 3 HP 2 3 10.1% 9.4% 4 LGE 4 4 4.6% 5.9% 5 BenQ 11 5 3.0% 4.6% ------------------------------------------------------

• While Dell retained the top position, its market share declined by over 1% with shipments rising half as fast as the overall market due to a stronger emphasis on more cost competitive CRT monitors during this period. Although it remained #1 at most major sizes -- including 15", 17", 17" wide, 18", 19" and 20" -- it lost share at 15", 17", 18" and 19". Regionally, it remained #1 in North America, fell from #1 to #2 in Japan, dropped from #2 to #4 in EMEA, fell from #3 to #4 in China and gained ground in Latin America and Asia Pacific.
• Samsung's move from #3 to #2 position in Q3'04 can be attributed to significant growth in North America and Europe. It enjoyed over 50% growth in North America rising from #4 to #3 and 22% growth in EMEA overtaking HP and Dell to earn the #2 position. It also remained #1 in Asia Pacific, rose from #3 to #2 in Latin America and fell from #2 to #3 in China. By size, Samsung gained share at 15" and 17". It remained #3 at 15", #2 at 17", #2 at 19" and #1 at 21"+.
• BenQ was the biggest surprise, jumping from #11 in Q2'04 to #5 in Q3'04 on 70% Q/Q growth. It rose from #10 to #5 at 15", from #11 to #7 at 17", and from #10 to #5 at 19" where it earned over 100% Q/Q growth. Regionally, it jumped from #10 to #6 in EMEA and #7 to #2 in China.
• In other regions, NEC overtook Dell to capture the top position in Japan, LGE surged from #4 to #1 in EMEA, and Lenovo remained dominant in China.

The DisplaySearch Quarterly Desktop Monitor Shipment and Forecast Report includes shipment and forecast data for LCD monitors, CRT monitors, LCD PCs, and TFT LCD monitor modules. The Quarterly Desktop Monitor Shipment and Forecast Report also provides cost forecasts of TFT LCD monitor modules, LCD monitor interface electronics, and LCD monitors. This report is delivered in PowerPoint and includes pivot tables.

About DisplaySearch
DisplaySearch ( www.displaysearch.com ) is the worldwide leader in market research and consulting for the flat panel display (FPD) industries. Founded in 1996, DisplaySearch serves a growing multinational client base, with an extensive array of market intelligence reports, advisory services, and global business conferences. The firm surveys the entire display industry food chain, including component and equipment manufacturers, display producers, OEMs, distributors and retailers. From this comprehensive vantage point, DisplaySearch prepares a valued suite of market forecasts, technology assessments, studies and analyses, and produces influential industry events worldwide. The firm is comprised of a core team of 19 analysts, located in Japan, Korea, North America and Taiwan.