By Kim Yoo-chul
Staff Reporter
Samsung Electronics maintained its No. 1 position in the 10-inch or more LCD panel market for 28 consecutive months.
The world's largest maker of memory chips Friday claimed the top position in the world by reaping $1.69 billion in total LCD sales in August, up 13 percent from a month earlier, quoting a report released by market research firm DisplaySearch
Samsung's monthly output of large LCD panels reached 7.34 million units, followed by LG.Philips LCD with 7.33 million units and Taiwan's AU Optronics with 7.23 million units.
``Such positive results stem from expanded production of LCD panels for IT-related goods,'' a Samsung spokesperson said.
Samsung is increasing production of large LCD panels for televisions and notebooks following the set up of the company's full 8G production line a month ago. DisplaySearch said the average sales prices of 17- and 19-inch panels was $131 and $151, respectively, surpassing last year's peak of $128 and $150.
LG.Philips LCD posted $1.49 billion in sales in August, up from $1.36 billion in July. The joint venture with Dutch-based Philips brought its overall monitor production to over 1 billion units in July for the first time in the industry.
The combined monthly sales of Samsung and LG reached $3.19 billion, $129 million more than the combined sales of $3.05 billion by AUO, CMO and other Taiwanese manufacturers, indicating that South Korea still maintains its leadership in the global LCD market.
``Demand for wide monitors in desktop PCs and notebooks has rapidly increased. As the year-end hot season approaches, prices of LCD panels for IT-related goods will continue to rise,'' said an official from DisplaySearch.