Coretronic steps into assembling OLED panels for notebooks

LED backlight unit (BLU) maker Coretronic began to assemble OLED panels for notebooks in small volumes in July 2021 and will start volume production in the following month, according to the company at a July 27 investor conference.

Coretronic has set up two production lines with monthly capacity of 300,000 OLED panels, the company said.

Coretronic will start constructing its second factory in Vietnam at the end of 2021, with initial production of TV LCD modules and related components at the site to kick off in the first half of 2023 at the earliest, Coretrtonic indicated.

Coretronic has upward adjusted the capex budget for 2021 from NT$1.9 billion (US$68.0 million) originally to NT$2.1 billion mainly for the construction of the second factory in Vietnam. The company will invest another NT$2 billion in 2022 for the facility.

Coretronic shipped 14.06 million LED BLUs and LCD displays used for special purposes in the second quarter of 2021, increasing 12% on quarter and 15% on year, with revenues in the quarter hitting NT$5.829 billion, up 14% on quarter and 3% on year. Of the shipped LED BLUs, 50% were used in notebooks, 20% in LCD TVs, 21% in LCD monitors, 4% in tablets and 6% in other devices.

Coretronic, in the second quarter, also shipped 217,000 projectors and other visual solution devices for revenues of NT$3.113 billion, with the shipments rising 10% on quarter and 12% on year and the revenues growing 7% sequentially and 11% on year.

Coretronic shipped 26.58 million LED BLUs and special-purpose displays for revenues of NT$10.943 billion in the first half of 2021, rising 29% and 10% on year, respectively. In the same period, the company shipped 413,000 projectors and other visual solution devices for revenues of NT$6.020 billion, increasing 14% and 23% on year, respectively.

In view of strong demand for LCD TVs, digital signage displays and notebooks, Coretronic expects LED BLU shipments in the third quarter of 2021 to increase about 10% on quarter and to grow about 20% on year for whole-year 2021.

For projectors and other visual solution devices, shipments in the third quarter are expected to increase about 10% sequentially and those in the whole year to rise 10-20% on year.

Source: Company, compiled by Digitimes, July 2021