Samsung Paces World Q1 LCD TV Shipments

By Greg Tarr -- TWICE, 6/14/2007 11:59:00 AM

El Segundo, Calif. — Samsung had a comparatively strong first quarter in global LCD TV shipments, while Philips saw its market share drop, according to a global category ranking from market research firm iSuppli, based here.

The research firm said all of the global top five LCD TV brands suffered seasonal declines since the fourth quarter of 2006, but Philips was hit the hardest in the period, relative to the other top five brands.

Philips Electronics saw a 26 percent slide in sales from the fourth quarter of 2006, causing it to fall to third place in the market, down from second in the fourth quarter of 2006, iSuppli said.

Overall, global LCD TV shipments declined to 13.99 million units in the first quarter, down 8 percent from 15.2 million in the fourth quarter, as is typical for the season.

All the top five LCD TV brands experienced sequential declines in shipments during the first three months of the year, iSuppli said.

“However, Philips of The Netherlands fared the worst among these companies, with its shipments dropping to 1.7 million units, down from 2.3 million in the fourth quarter. Philips’ global LCD-TV market share dropped to 12.2 percent in the first quarter, down from 15.1 percent in the fourth quarter,” according to a statement issued by the market research firm.

Andrew Murray, iSuppli display systems senior director, attributed Philips’ performance to a lack of direct control over its panel shipments.

“Philips continues to pay the price for its lack of direct control over the supply of its LCD panels,” said Murray said. “The company clearly has a close relationship with panel supplier LG.Philips LCD Co. Ltd. — but it doesn’t have total control, making it hard to get the favorable delivery and pricing terms enjoyed by some of its competitors.”

Sony also underperformed the market in the first quarter, with a 13.7 percent decline in shipments, allowing the Japanese company to claim the No. 2 position from Philips, while Philips dropped to third place, iSuppli said.

Samsung, meanwhile, outperformed the market with a 7 percent sequential decline in shipments. Samsung’s LCD TV shipments declined to 2.4 million, down 7.3 percent from 2.5 million in the fourth quarter, iSuppli said. Company market share rose to 16.8 percent, up from 16.7 percent in the fourth quarter.

Samsung continues to outperform because it has good control over its production costs and is very aggressive in its marketing campaigns, Murray added.