Samsung Elec says flat TV market tougher

By Marie-France Han

SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (005930.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the world's top maker of flat-screen televisions, said it was aiming to increase sales of larger and more profitable models to counter an increasingly difficult TV market.

"The TV business is getting tougher in terms of price," Park Jong-woo, president of the company's digital media division, said on Thursday at the Reuters Global Technology, Media and Telecoms Summit.

Samsung's digital media division, which also makes video and audio equipment and computers, has been grappling with the fast pace of price drops in the consumer electronics sector, most notably flat screen TVs.

Shares in Samsung, the top supplier of flat screen TVs both in terms of revenue and unit sales, fell as much as 1.4 percent on Thursday but recovered slightly to end 0.7 percent lower at 566,000 won. The stock lagged a 0.9 percent rise in the wider market .

For the fourth quarter of 2006, it had 14 percent of the world's liquid crystal display (LCD) unit shipments, while Japanese rival Sony Corp. (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) took a 17.4 percent share in terms of revenue, according to research firm DisplaySearch.

After makers of flat screens raced to ramp up production, the LCD TV industry has struggled with tumbling prices and oversupply since last year.

According to market research firm iSuppli, the price of a 32-inch LCD TV panel is expected to fall by 17 percent just in the first half of this year. The price for a 40-inch panel is expected to decline by 18 percent during the same period.

At the retail level, 40- and 42-inch LCD and plasma TV sets are currently being sold in the United States at prices close to $1,000, a 40 to 50 percent price drop from a year ago.  Continued...