(Yicai) April 12 --  BOE Technology Group, a leading Chinese display panel maker, said it expects net profit to have jumped by as much as 304 percent in the first three months of the year after prices rose and downstream demand came early.

Net profit was likely CNY800 million to CNY1 billion (USD110 million to USD140 million) last quarter, up 223 percent to 304 percent from a year ago, the Beijing-based firm said yesterday.

BOE used 80 percent of its liquid-crystal display panel capacity in March, up from 50 percent the month before. LCD television panel prices have increased since February, while the prices of LCD screens for information technology products is also rebounding.

BOE's shipments of organic light-emitting diode panels maintained year-on-year growth in the first quarter, and it has set an annual target to ship 160 million this year, up more than 30 percent on 2023. The firm will focus on high-end flexible OLED panels, especially foldable screens.

Due to shrinking global demand last year, BOE's net profit tumbled 66 percent to CNY2.6 billion, while revenue fell 2.2 percent to CNY174.5 billion (USD24.1 billion). It expects healthier supply and demand this year, executives said on the firm’s earnings conference call on April 2.
 

2024 will be a turning point for global panel factory revenues after last year’s low, according to Li Yaqin, general manager of market research firm Sigmaintell. Revenues fell 7.6 percent to USD93.5 billion last year and will likely jump 11 percent to about USD103.3 billion this year, Li noted.

The UEFA European Football Championship and the Paris Olympics, to be held this summer, will stimulate demand and lead to a sales recovery amid promotional activities, BOE said, adding that heightened shipping risks due to the Red Sea crisis have also led to a price resurgence. Higher price expectations have bolstered demand from brand manufacturers, it said.

Shares of BOE [SHE: 000725] rose 0.2 percent to CNY4.23 (58 US cents) apiece in Shenzhen today, after earlier jumping by as much as 2.4 percent.  

Editor: Martin Kadiev