14 DAY TRIAL // The display market was one of the more well off parts of the IT industry at some point, but it looks like not everything is rosy even there, at least according to analysts' financial findings.
The latest research from iSuppli revealed that the performance of flat panels, marketing-wise, during the second quarter was somewhat lukewarm.
The 32-inch size turned out to be the best seller during the period (April-June, 2011), most of the units having sold in China.
Overall, though, flat-panel TVs sold about 48 million units, 1.3% less than during the first quarter, when the figure was 48.7 million.
“Although the second quarter of the year usually is stronger than the first, that was not the case for flat-panel TVs this year,” said Lisa Hatamiya, displays researcher for IHS.
“Anxiety over the economy dampened demand in the mature TV markets of North America, Europe and Japan, where purchasing power and discretionary income are highest. And even strong sales in the emerging markets in the Asia-Pacific region were insufficient to offset the slowdown suffered by the developed regions.”
LCD TVs accounted for 43.4 million of those, somewhat less (2.7%) than the 44.6 million of Q1, 2011.
Plasma screens seem to the only ones who gained ground, jumping from 4.1 million to 4.7 million, about 13.9 % as it were.
Weak demand was, generally, the cause of the slight slump, though the fact that China's seasonal sales were unusually low contributed as well, a great deal in fact.
On the offside, revenue for flat-panel TVs actually went up a bit, since larger and, thus, more expensive TV sizes were introduced.
The growing interest in 3D (this survey show consumers really like 3D better) also made its contribution.
All in all, TVs aren't doing as well as some may like, but they are still selling decently, unlike other products.