Panasonic Loses Global Plasma Revenue Lead for First Time, to Samsung

After six years of growth, worldwide TV shipments dipped 0.3 percent in 2011 to 247.7 million units, according to a report released Wednesday by NPD DisplaySearch. LCD TV shipments rose 7 percent to more than 205 million units in 2011, a “substantial slowdown” from the double-digit growth in previous years, DisplaySearch said. Plasma TV shipments fell nearly 7 percent for the year to 17.2 million units, their largest drop yet, it said, and CRT shipments plunged 34 percent.

Results were “well below industry expectations,” according to Paul Gagnon, director of North America TV research for NPD DisplaySearch. He attributed the low number of shipments to excessive inventory levels early last year for the U.S. and European markets and to a sharp drop in demand in Japan following the end of the government-sponsored Eco-Points program that rewarded consumers for replacing TVs with more eco-friendly models.

Q4 2011 shipments were down 4 percent year over year to 74.2 million units, with the LCD TV segment reporting its lowest growth rate -- 1 percent -- since DisplaySearch began tracking shipments in 2004. Plasma TV shipments decreased 8 percent for the quarter and CRTs were down 43 percent, the report said.

Samsung’s global flat-panel TV revenue share grew in Q4 2011 to 26.3 percent, a “record level for any brand,” DisplaySearch said, and a 3 percent improvement from Q3. Samsung was also the revenue market share leader in both LCD and plasma, marking the first time that a brand other than Panasonic led in global plasma TV market revenues, it said. LG came in behind Samsung at 13.4 percent of revenues and was the only other brand besides Samsung to see revenue growth year over year for the quarter. Sony reached 10 percent revenue share for the quarter but saw more than a 30 percent decline in revenues year over year, according to the report.

While TV shipments in mature markets including North America, Europe and Japan fell 21 percent year over year in Q4, shipments rose in emerging regions by 12 percent, DisplaySearch said. China remained the top region for TV shipments at 21 percent, unchanged from the previous quarter, accounting for 15.6 million units in the quarter and 49 million units for the year. China also had strongest growth of any region in 2011, with shipments increasing 19 percent year over year. North America was the second largest region for TV shipments, accounting for 20.5 percent of shipments in Q4, and it was the only developed region to experience year over year shipment growth, DisplaySearch said.

LCD TV share expanded to 86.5 percent of global TV shipments in Q4, up from 83 percent in Q3 2011 and 82 percent in Q4 2010, according to the report. LCD TV growth was strongest in larger screen sizes due to “aggressively priced models” shipping for the holiday season, DisplaySearch said, with shipments of 40-inch and larger LCD TVs rising 20 percent year over year compared with sub-40-inch TV shipments that fell 7 percent, it said. Average prices for 40/42-inch LCD TVs declined 11 percent year over year and prices for 60-inch and higher LCD TVs slumped 16 percent year over year, it said. LED backlight set penetration “continues to grow slowly,” the report said, rising above 50 percent of LCD units for the first time in Q4 2011. The high premium for edge-lit LED LCD TVs is “still an inhibitor to adoption,” DisplaySearch said, but new low-cost direct-lit LED models arriving this year should help speed adoption. Plasma TV shipments continued their decline in Q4, slipping 8 percent year over year amid a shift to larger screen sizes and focus on improved profitability, the report said. The 50-inch and higher segment of plasma TV shipments grew more than 50 percent for the first time in Q4, it said.

3D “continues to show gains” worldwide as a percentage of TV shipments, with the greatest growth in China and Europe, according to the report. Calling the results “surprising,” DisplaySearch said 3D penetration in North America continues to be “lackluster” at 9 percent of Q4 2011 TV shipments. 3D TVs accounted for more than 24 million units shipped worldwide in 2011, with 21 percent of shipments in Western Europe and 23 percent in China, it said.