TV PANEL DEMAND:Net profit increased 5.7 percent to NT$9.48 billion in the first quarter. Last year the company reported a NT$5.48 billion loss for the same period

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 28, 2017
By: Lisa Wang / Staff reporter

AU Optronics Corp (AUO, 友達光電) yesterday said the first quarter of this year was its best first quarter in the past nine years as persistent inventory buildup demand for TV panels pushed prices higher.

The LCD panel maker’s net profit expanded about 5.7 percent to NT$9.48 billion (US$314.4 million), compared with NT$8.97 billion in the fourth quarter of last year, the company’s financial statement showed.

In the first quarter of last year, the company lost NT$5.48 billion.

Average selling prices for the company’s products rose 2 percent in the first quarter to US$421 per square meter, up from US$413 per square meter in the fourth quarter of last year.

That represents an annual jump of 20.63 percent.    [FULL  STORY]