Global LCD TV Shipments May Suffer Negative Annual Growth

Third-quarter LCD TV shipments worldwide stood at 53.1 million units, based on the latest reporting from WitsView, a division of TrendForce. Global shipments grew 8.3% quarterly due to the effects of the traditional peak season. However, economic stagnation in Europe and the emerging markets also led to a slight year-on-year decline of 1.8% in third-quarter shipments. China, too, is suffering from economic slowdown and its TV sales fell year on year for the first time for both the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday periods. These are indications that the worldwide market demand for LCD TV remains generally weak.

According to WitsView, Singles Day sales in China (on November 11) and Christmas holiday sales in Europe and the U.S. will drive fourth-quarter shipments, which are projected to rise by 17.1% quarterly to 62.2 million units. However, this figure is a 7.5% drop on a year-on-year basis. WitsView’s latest forecast also reveals that global LCD TV shipments for the entire 2015 will total 216 million units. This is a downward revision from the earlier estimate of 220 million units. Correspondingly, the projected annual growth has been changed from a positive 1.74% to a negative 0.1%, raising the specter of first-ever negative growth result after 2013.

Samsung maintained its No. 1 position in global shipments while TCL stepped up its efforts during the Chinese holiday events

South Korean brands Samsung and LG Electronics (LGE) were respectively the leader and runner-up in the global LCD TV shipment ranking in the third quarter. Firmly holding on to its title, Samsung’s shipments increased by 3.8% quarterly, totaling 10.9 million units. Due to fluctuations of currency exchange rates in the emerging markets, LGE’s shipments during the same period were below expectations and fell 7% quarterly to 6.6 million units. Moreover, LGE’s market share contracted from 14.5% in the second quarter to 12.4% in the third quarter.

Among the Chinese LCD TV vendors, The Creative Life (TCL) suffered from slowed shipments in the second quarter because of rising channel inventory. In order to achieve its annual shipment target, the vendor was quick to seize the demand generated by the holiday events in China and greatly expanded its shipments, which rose to 3.66 million units. TCL managed to edge out Hisense to reach the No. 3 spot in the shipment ranking with a staggering quarterly growth of 31.4%. Hisense’s third-quarter shipments were also lifted by the demand of the Chinese holiday sales events and rose steadily by 4.4% over the prior quarter to 3.34 million units.

Sony finished at fifth place with 2.73 million units shipped in the third quarter. While the Japanese vendor posted a quarterly growth of 3.8%, it also suffered a massive year-on-year decline of 26.2%. Sony’s shipment result was attributed its ongoing focus on developing market segments related to high-end and large-size TV models.