Tianma gets OLED orders?
Tianma Microelectronics (000050.CH) is rumored to have picked up orders from at least one smartphone customer for its 5.5” OLED displays at Mobile World Congress recently. The panel ordered is said to be a 1080 display and would be Tianma’s 1st commercial OLED product. They have been sampling a lower resolution model (1280x720) for a number of months. Tianma current produces their OLED samples on a Gen 4.5 pilot line which has limited commercial production capabilities, but is scheduled to open phase 1 of its Gen 6 OLED fab in September of this year, although we have heard that the fab could open as early as May.
Unfortunately the order remains unconfirmed, and if true will likely be dependent on the Gen 6 line’s start date and ramp, but in any case, if this order is real, it would represent a significant step forward for Tianma’s OLED development and commercialization project. Tianma has a~1% share of the overall display market on a m2 basis, but has a ~3% share of the small panel display market (dollars), and has been a supplier of small panel LCD displays to the Chinese market for a number of years, which gives them the relationships with mainland smartphone vendors that would help them sell an equivalent OLED display. More than likely, Tianma will not be making much money on the order, if it goes through, as the new fab will likely be running at a low yield rate, but the idea is to get their foot in the door on OLED and even a small, money losing order from a recognizable Chinese smartphone manufacturer will go a long way toward building that business.
Unfortunately the order remains unconfirmed, and if true will likely be dependent on the Gen 6 line’s start date and ramp, but in any case, if this order is real, it would represent a significant step forward for Tianma’s OLED development and commercialization project. Tianma has a~1% share of the overall display market on a m2 basis, but has a ~3% share of the small panel display market (dollars), and has been a supplier of small panel LCD displays to the Chinese market for a number of years, which gives them the relationships with mainland smartphone vendors that would help them sell an equivalent OLED display. More than likely, Tianma will not be making much money on the order, if it goes through, as the new fab will likely be running at a low yield rate, but the idea is to get their foot in the door on OLED and even a small, money losing order from a recognizable Chinese smartphone manufacturer will go a long way toward building that business.
Tianma Raw OLED Capacity - Source: SCMR LLC, Company Data
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