Flexible OLED Sales
In the third quarter of this year, Samsung Display surpassed US$ 1 billion in sales of flexible organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels used in smartphones for the first time in history. In addition to Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display supplied its panels to Chinese smartphone makers such as Huawei, Oppo and Vivo, which played a major role in empowering the Korean display giant to set the new record.
According to the display industry and market research institute IHS Market on December 15, Samsung Display achieved sales of US$ 3.668 billion in the small and mid-sized display (nine inches) market in the third quarter of this year, accounting for 31.8% of the market, maintaining its number one position in the world market.
Samsung Display has maintained its 30%-plus market share since chalking up a 30.7% market share in the first quarter of this year. Samsung Display maintained its gaps which were about double those of Japan Display (15.4%) and LG Display (13.1%).
Industry watchers say that Samsung Display believes that strong sales of flexible OLED panels dominating the global market, has significantly contributed to the increase in small- and mid-sized display sales. Samsung Display has a dominant position in the small and medium-sized OLED market with a 96.2% market share in the third quarter. Although LG Display and some Chinese panel makers entered the small- and medium-sized OLED panel market, they still have a long way to go to catch up with Samsung Display.
In particular, Samsung Display's flexible OLED sales in the third quarter amounted to US$ 1,053 million, marking the first quarterly sales of over US$ 1 billion and a 68.7% year on year increase.
Samsung Display is the world’s only panel maker operating the 'A3' line, a sixth-generation flexible OLED line in the Tangjeong Plant in Chungcheong-nam-do. Flexible OLED panels produced here are supplied to Samsung Electronics for its smartphones. Recently, Chinese makers Huawei, Oppo and Bibo have been receiving panels produced here as well.
IHS Market predicts that the annual market of flexible OLEDs will grow from US$ 3.97 billion this year to US$ 12.839 billion after surpassing US$ 10 billion in 2018 to US$ 18.989 billion in 2020.
Moreover, in terms of sales, the proportion of flexible OLEDs in the entire smartphone panel market is estimated to be 10% this year, but the proportion is expected to surpass 35.1% in 2018 and 49.5% in 2020.