(Yicai) Jan. 31 -- BOE Technology Group, a Chinese display giant, expects its net profit to have plunged by 67 to 70 percent last year from the year before due to tepid demand.

Net profit may have dropped to a point between CNY2.3 billion and CNY2.5 billion (USD323.9 million and 352.1 million), the Beijing-based manufacturer announced yesterday without disclosing its revenue estimate. However, the firm said that its revenue rose quarter by quarter last year.

According to BOE, the company's net loss after excluding nonrecurring items could tally from CNY550 million to CNY750 million (USD77.5 million to USD105.6 million) last year, albeit shrinking by 66 to 75 percent from 2022.

Last year, global shipments of television sets fell by 3 percent to a 10-year low of 214 million units, Zhang Hong, research director at market research firm Sigmaintell, said to Yicai. Leading Chinese display panel makers, including BOE, attempt to stabilize product prices by extending holidays and controlling output.

The industry indeed is sluggish as BOE's OLED rival Visionox Technology announced yesterday that its net loss widened by as much as 53 percent to as high as CNY4 billion last year from 2022 due to reduced demand and fluctuations in pricing.

BOE pointed out that a highlight of last year is that the company's liquid-crystal display panel business became more profitable. Moreover, the firm is increasing its efforts in high-end organic light-emitting diode displays, such as flexible panels, and exploring mid-sized ones. Last year, BOE’s shipments of flexible OLED panels tallied nearly 120 million units.

Global shipments of OLED panels for smartphones jumped by 16 percent to 690 million units last year, according to Cinno Research. Flexible OLED panels accounted for almost 78 percent of the total, up from 68.6 percent, and BOE was the second-biggest player in the segment.

Output is expected to rise as early this month, BOE announced it will build a new production line for OLED panels in southwestern China's Chengdu.

BOE's Shenzhen-traded shares [SHE: 000725] finished the day 1.4 percent lower at CNY3.60 (US 50 cents).

Editors: Shi Yi, Emmi Laine