AU Optronics (AUO) will apply smart manufacturing to ramp up its output to meet increasing demand for LCD panels for a wide range of applications, according to company chairman Paul Peng.

While the supply of panels for IT applications has been tight, TV- and automotive-use panels are also in shortage, Peng said.

Overall utilization rates are high, and not much capacity can now be devoted to automotive panels, production for which has been reduced since first-half 2020 when automakers suspended their factories in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, he said.

Now with IT devices necessary for remote work and study, persistent demand for IT panels will become the norm and will not disappear even the pandemic eases, Peng stated.

While experiencing a slight sequential decline in revenue for October, Peng said that AUO will see its revenues stay flat or edge up slightly in fourth-quarter 2020 as compared to a quarter earlier, with profits driven up by higher ASPs.

The supply and demand for panels will become more balanced in 2021, and market conditions will be less volatile in the next few years, Peng commented.

By DIGITIMES