Samsung has cemented its position as the global leader in plasma and LCD TVs, with its market share in the second quarter of this year rising 18% on both the first quarter and last year's sales.
The figures, from industry analyst DisplaySearch, show that Samsung's share of global flatpanel revenue in April-June was 28.5%, 18% better than the 25.9% it achieves in January-March of this year.
Korean rival LG also rose by 12% quarter on quarter, to a 15.2% share, with the only major Japanese TV manufacturer on the rise being Panasonic, up 38% to command a 6.8% market share, and fourth place in the global TV market.
Sony was in third place, its 8.3% representing a 5% drop from the first quarter of this year, while Sharp fell 17% to just 5%. However Sharp still held on to fifth place in the face of growing challenges from Chinese manufacturers, which together increased their revenues 14%.
The year-on-year figures, comparing the last quarter with the same three months in 2011, are rather more bleak – only Samsung showed growth, with LG flat, Sony down 33% and Panasonic and Sharp both down 33%.
The market as a whole has also contracted: total shipments of TVs were down 8% year-on-year, at 51.635m units, with LCD TVs down 2% on sales of just over 44m sets, and plasma down 26%, with just over 3m sets being sold worldwide.
LCD TVs – including LED-lit models – account for 85.5% of the global TV market, with plasma on 6.1%. Other technologies – basically old-style CRT TVs – still take 8.4% of the market.
On a geographical basis, the country hardest hit was Japan, with sales down 77% year-on-year, while developed markets as a whole fell 23%.
Emerging markets slowed to just 3% growth after showing double-digit growth late last year, but within this sector, Eastern Europe continued to see impressive growth, while Chinese demand recovered from a fall in the first quarter of this year to clock up 6% growth in April-June.
