LCD Display Costs Expected to Drop 62% by 2008

AUSTIN, Texas - April 13, 2005 - DisplaySearch, the worldwide leader in flat panel display (FPD) market research and consulting, has developed a new report which reveals current and future panel costs, material prices, depreciation, yields, panel prices, and profit margins for LCD monitor and LCD TV panels. DisplaySearch's new Quarterly TFT LCD Cost Forecast Report with Annual Projections provides the costs of TFT LCD manufacturing from 2004-2008 for seven different substrate sizes ranging from 730 x 920 mm to 2160 x 2460 mm for eight different panel sizes, including 15", 17", and 19" LCD monitor modules and 26", 32", 37" and 40" and 42" LCD TV modules.

Unlike previous display industry recoveries, the current display industry recovery will occur primarily through cost reduction due to the amount of supply coming online derived from significant 2004 and 2005 capital spending. As a result, understanding how much and how fast costs are likely to fall is critical to the display industry outlook, making this report a must-have for analysts and industry personnel tracking the display market. Costs are expected to fall as much as 62% from 2005 to 2008, supporting significant growth in the LCD monitor and LCD TV markets.

The new report covers a variety of topics:

• Significant differences in costs between first and second tier suppliers due to differences in yield, depreciation costs, depreciation timing, utilization and component costs
• Cash costs, total costs and prices for all major panels and substrate sizes for both first and second tier suppliers, including when each panel will be profitable for first and second tier suppliers by substrate size
• Material prices for major TFT LCD materials, including glass, color filters, backlight units, polarizers, driver ICs and liquid crystal
• How low prices are likely to fall
• What the expectations are for net margins through 2008

About DisplaySearch
DisplaySearch is the worldwide leader in FPD market research and consulting. Founded in 1996, DisplaySearch serves a growing multinational client base, providing an extensive array of market intelligence reports, advisory services, and global business conferences. DisplaySearch surveys the entire display industry food chain, including component and equipment manufacturers, FPD producers, OEMs, brands, distributors and retailers. DisplaySearch has a core team of 20 analysts located in North America and Asia; they prepare a valued suite of market forecasts, technology assessments, surveys, studies and analyses, and they organize influential industry events worldwide. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, DisplaySearch has regional operations in Chicago, Hong Kong, Houston, Kyoto, Shenzhen, San Jose, Seoul, Taipei and Tokyo, and the company is on the web at http://www.displaysearch.com .