As demand for panels decreases, AUO accelerates its transformation and business spin-off

The continued spread of the COVID-19 epidemic has impacted the global market, and the impact on the industry chain is spreading from the production end to the terminal market. With the postponement of major events such as the Tokyo Olympics, the demand for the panel industry will decrease. Looking at future trends, the rise in panel prices will slow down.

According to Qunzhi Consulting, in terms of panel prices of various sizes in April, the supply of 32-inch panels will return to normal due to weak sales, and the price will fall by one dollar in April; in terms of mainstream sizes such as 39.5-43 inches, the overall demand is stable and it is expected to fall by one dollar in April; for large sizes above 50 inches, the price will remain unchanged.

In terms of demand, Qunzhi Consulting pointed out that this year's wave of phone replacement brought about by the Tokyo Olympics and the European Cup will see a decline in market demand as related events are cancelled and postponed.

Industry insiders believe that although manufacturers in Taiwan continue to develop into industrial control and automotive fields and expand  emerging technologies such as MiniLED  , the impact of the epidemic will be alleviated in the short term. Even though there is market demand for distance education in the near future, there are still many challenges in the operation of panel manufacturers in Taiwan, and the industry recovery may have to wait until next year.

Previously, Qiu Yubin, Vice President of Optoelectronics Research at TrendForce, said that downstream brand manufacturers will soon reduce their panel purchases in the second quarter, and as panel capacity utilization increases, the price increase may only last for two months and will end in April. Under the decline in demand, supply and demand will reverse again, and the seller's market will only be short-lived.

In recent years, AUO, a major panel manufacturer, has promoted a value transformation strategy, focusing on the core panel business, continuing to innovate and develop, accelerating its entry into the field economy, hoping to combine with more partners to explore market opportunities and jointly create an ecosystem. AUO Chairman Peng Shuanglang even called out "AUO Next" this year, standing on the basis of the past and moving forward to restore the company's past glory. The transformation and value-added layout will readjust the panel business organization into the Consumer Application Strategic Business Headquarters and the Commercial and Industrial Application Strategic Business Headquarters.

AUO is committed to establishing a complete talent development mechanism and succession plan. Through job rotation in different work areas, it deepens the training of senior management talents, continuously promotes outstanding professional managers to important positions, and provides them with different platforms for performance. It also hopes that through this rotation of senior managers, it can bring more innovative momentum to the company, while injecting vitality into the organization and continuously improving its competitive advantage.

AUO's transformation is gradually paying off. The revenue share of commercial and industrial control products climbed to 26% in the fourth quarter of last year. It ranks second in the global market for automotive center console panels, and is the world leader in commercial products such as POS/KIOSK/ATM/MFP. As a result, it has set up an independent business headquarters and invested more resources in it.

AUO said that the display business units such as TV, information and mobile devices under the Consumer Application Strategic Business Headquarters are led by Deputy General Manager Chen Jianbin. The display business units such as automotive, general and public information/retail under the Commercial and Industrial Application Strategic Business Headquarters are led by Deputy General Manager Liao Shihong. As for the newly established System and Solution Business Headquarters last year, it is currently focusing on commercial, automotive and industrial application solutions, providing a full range of services from hardware, software and platforms, and is led by Zeng Tianlong, who used to be the general manager of Qisda's Intelligent Solution Business Group.

The Energy Business Headquarters is led by Tianyu Lin. AUO emphasized that the company has extensive experience in building solar power plants and has vertically integrated the resources of its group company AUO Crystal Materials to provide products such as high-efficiency wafers and solar modules. The company will continue to provide one-stop services and deepen its presence in the solar photovoltaic market.