Taiwan wafer manufacturer Epistar consolidated revenue for August 2013 is NT$1.97 billion with a 2.85 increase month-on-month, .39 percent higher than August 2012. Epistar president Li Bingjie pointed out that although lighting demands for 3Q are continuing to move higher, they have felt affects from decrease in TV backlighting demand. 3Q revenue is predicted to be either level with or less than 2Q and Citibank estimates that Epistar 3Q revenue will decrease 5 percent.
According to Mr. Li, even though orders for backlighting picked up a bit around National Day holidays, it is evident that the entire market felt the affects of energy saving subsidies concluding with backlighting delivery quantities for July and August having almost decreased by half. Weakening TV backlighting demands still have an influence on 3Q peak season results for LED manufacturers. Comparatively, lighting demands continue to rise. It is predicted that LED wafer usage will be comparable to quantity in backlight usage by 2015. Epistar will soon increase frequency in lighting market layout and focus market strategies on boosting market share.
Citibank believes that Epistar 3Q TV backlight will be largely affected by brand named manufacturers stock adjustment and will cause 2Q revenue for backlight to drop 20 percent. 3Q TV backlight is predicted to make up 20-25 percent of Epistar revenue compared to 25-30 percent in 2Q. Lighting revenue proportions from 25-30 percent in 2Q will hike up to 35 percent. 3Q revenue is predicted to decrease by 5 percent.
