‘Virtually No Demand’ for Gen 10.5 Photomasks Last Quarter: Photronics

The photomask market for Gen 10.5 displays was “frozen” in Photronics’ fiscal Q2 ended May 2, said CEO Peter Kirlin on a Wednesday earnings call. Photronics supplies photomasks to panel makers and can be a bellwether of conditions in sectors of the display industry. Gen 10.5 panels are optimized for 65- and 75-inch big-screen TVs. “There was virtually no demand across the industry” for Gen 10.5 masks, but “we’re expecting market demand to pick back up” in the current fiscal Q3 ending early August, said Kirlin. Photronics shipped more photomasks for Gen 10.5 displays this quarter than it did in all of fiscal Q2, he said. Demand for photomasks comes from new panel capacity, but also from new products on existing capacity, said Display Supply Chain Consultants President Bob O'Brien. "If there is no demand for new masks, then there is no new product development happening on Gen 10.5. That would be consistent with the current LCD shortage -- fabs want to run everything they can on existing products."