DisplaySearch Report indicates TEL, ULVAC, AKT and Nikon will be the Top Four TFT LCD Array Equipment Companies in 2007

DisplaySearch, the worldwide leader in display market research and consulting, reports that TEL, ULVAC, AKT and Nikon will be the top four TFT LCD Array Equipment companies in 2007—all with revenues exceeding $485 million, according to the updated critical forecasts from its comprehensive 2007 Equipment Market Share & Industry Update and TFT LCD Equipment Report, which covers all technical and market aspects of TFT LCD manufacturing and capital equipment.

Charles Annis, DisplaySearch's Vice President, noted, "After three consecutive years of heavy investment with TFT LCD panel makers spending more than $10 billion a year on equipment, spending will shrink 35% to $8.2 billion in 2007. Even so, with improving TFT maker financial performance and tightening supply/demand, equipment spending is predicted to recover 13% in 2008 and then again in 2009. This increased spending is projected to push TFT array capacity from 84.6 million m2 in 2007 to approximately double that in 2012."
Additional report highlights include

· From Q2'06 through Q1'07, TFT LCD manufacturers on average lost money, but from Q2'07 the market has corrected itself, and top-tier panel maker margins are now expected to rise into double digits in Q3'07 and to even higher levels in 2H'08.
· Long-range demand and capacity analysis forecasts that between 2007 and 2016, 53 new 60K substrates per month equivalent fabs will need to be brought on line to meet growing LCD area demand.
· The top 15 array process equipment makers from 1996 through 2007 are analyzed and ranked by revenue. As shown in the table below, in 2006 TEL, AKT, ULVAC and Nikon were the top four TFT LCD array equipment vendors all with calculated revenue greater than $699 million in 2006. In 2007, the same four companies are expected to maintain their top positions, all generating sales greater than $485 million.
· For 17 main array process equipment segments, units and revenues are forecast from 1999-2010, and market share in terms of both units and revenues are forecast from 1999-2007. For example, AKT's share of the PE-CVD market is forecast to grow from 65% in 2004 to 85% in 2007.
· Important equipment developments over the past year are reviewed. For example, the latest status of ink-jet and other alternative patterning techniques are analyzed to show that—because it eliminates the need for coaters/developers, exposure tools and masks—inkjet has a very compelling Total Cost Factor of 0.58, about one-third of conventional color filter coating and patterning by proximity exposure.

The DisplaySearch 2007 Equipment Market Share & Industry Update and TFT LCD Equipment Report contains an enormous amount of data related to changes in LCD manufacturing and outlines the continuing evolution of the TFT LCD industry over the past year—revising time sensitive forecasts related to industry trends such as TFT and color filter fab activity, capacity, equipment forecasts, array equipment market share and more.

The update extends forecast ranges one year—providing current data on demand, fab utilization, market share and breaking news. Adding information above and beyond the scope of the 2006 Equipment Report, the Update package will be an invaluable research tool for anyone directly involved in the TFT LCD supply chain or anyone evaluating the industry.
For more information on this report, please contact Arie Braun at (512) 687-1505 or arie@displaysearch.com

DisplaySearch
The NPD Group Inc.