AMOLED Revenues Clip PMOLED 1st Time in 2009: DisplaySearch

Taipei, April 9, 2010 (CENS)--The global market revenue of organic light-emit diode (OLED) was US$826 million, up 35% year-on-year (YoY), according to DisplaySearch.

The global leader in display market research and consulting said the increased active-matrix (AM)OLED demand for cellphone main displays was the key driver of the growth in 2009, which signaled a record year for OLED.

The increased demand for AMOLEDs in 2009 not only contributed to the annual growth of the OLED market as a whole, but also led to it overtaking passive-matrix (PM)OLED revenues for the first time, with US$537 million in annual revenue compared to PMOLED revenues of US$291 million. PMOLED demand in 2009 fell as a result of cellphone design trends shifting from clam-shell designs, which use PMOLEDs for secondary displays, to smartphones, which use larger AM displays.

"We expect AMOLED revenue growth to remain strong in 2010. In order for PMOLEDs to make a comeback, the technology needs to be developed for new applications such as automotive and consumer electronics that are currently adopting PMLCD," noted Hiroshi Hayase, DisplaySearch Director of Small/Medium Displays.

Revenues for Samsung Mobile Display of Korea far exceeded that of all other OLED suppliers in 2009, with US$566 million in revenues, up 90% YoY. RiTdisplay Corp. of Taiwan was the No. 2, with US$106 million, falling 18% YoY, and Pioneer of Japan fell 15% YoY with US$60 million. TDK increased its revenue 15% from 2008 and maintained fourth place in 2009, and Visionox grew its revenue to US$15 million to rank the No. 5.

Top-5 OLED Suppliers' Revenues in 2009 (US$ million)
Rank	Company	Region	Revenue	Y/Y
1	Samsung Mobile	Korea	$566	90%
2	RiTdisplay	Taiwan	$106	-18%
3	Pioneer	Japan	$60	-15%
4	TDK	Japan	$42	15%
5	Visionox	China	$15	3137%
Source: DipslaySearch's Quarterly OLED Shipment and Forecast Report