HSINCHU, April 10, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- AU Optronics Corp.("AUO" or the "Company") (TAIEX: 2409; NYSE: AUO) today announced its preliminary consolidated March 2012 revenue of NT$31,441 million, up by 12.5% month-over-month and down by 12.5% year-over-year. AUO's unaudited consolidated revenues for the first quarter of 2012 totaled NT$81,102 million, down by 9.4% quarter-over-quarter and 13% year-over-year.
For March 2012, Large-sized panel(a) shipments, with applications on desktop monitor, notebook PC, LCD TV and other applications, surpassed 10.43 million units, an increase of 9.8% from the previous month. As for small-and-medium-sized panels, the shipments were around 13.22 million units, up by 0.8% month-over-month.
In the first quarter of 2012, large-sized panel shipments exceeded 27.25 million units, an increase of 1.8% from last quarter and a decrease of 4% over last year. On the other hand, shipments of small-and-medium-sized panels for the same quarter totaled 36.67 million units, down by 21.1% quarter-over-quarter and 15.7% year-over-year.
| (a) Large size refers to panels that are 10 inches and above in diagonal measurement while small and medium size refers to those below 10 inches. |
Sales Report :(Unit: NT$ million)
| Net Sales(1)(2) | Consolidated(3) | Unconsolidated |
| March 2012 | 31,441 | 30,250 |
| February 2012 | 27,955 | 26,669 |
| M-o-M Growth | 12.5% | 13.4% |
| March 2011 | 35,947 | 34,236 |
| Y-o-Y Growth | (12.5%) | (11.6%) |
| Jan to March 2012 | 81,102 | 77,572 |
| Jan to March 2011 | 93,230 | 88,290 |
| Y-o-Y Growth | (13%) | (12.1%) |
(1) All figures are prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in Taiwan. (2) Monthly figures are unaudited, prepared by AU Optronics Corp. (3) Consolidated numbers include AU Optronics Corp., AU Optronics (L) Corp. and its affiliates, BriView Electronics Corp. and its affiliates, Toppan CFI (Taiwan) Co, Ltd., Darshin Microelectronics Inc., and AUO Crystal Corp. and its affiliates.
ABOUT AU OPTRONICS
AU Optronics Corp. (AUO) is one of the world's leading providers of display and solar total solutions. AUO offers a full range of panel sizes and comprehensive applications ranging from 1.2 inches to 71 inches. Based on its profound R&D and manufacturing experience, AUO continues to develop advanced display technologies of the next generation. AUO extended its market to the green energy industry in 2008. By building a vertically integrated high-efficiency solar value chain, AUO provides its customers with high-efficiency solar solutions. AUO now has global operations in Taiwan, Mainland China, the U.S., Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, Czech and Slovakia. Additionally, AUO is the first pure TFT-LCD manufacturer to be successfully listed at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). AUO has also been named to Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for two consecutive years from 2010 to 2011. AUO generated NT$379.7 billion (US$ 12.54 billion) in sales revenue in 2011. For more information, please visit AUO.com.
* 2011 year end revenue converted at an exchange rate of NTD30.27:USD1.
Safe Harbour Notice
AU Optronics Corp. ("AUO" or the "Company") (TAIEX: 2409; NYSE: AUO), a global leader of TFT-LCD panels, today announced the above news. Except for statements in respect of historical matters, the statements contained in this Release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements were based on our management's expectations, projections and beliefs at the time regarding matters including, among other things, future revenues and costs, financial performance, technology changes, capacity, utilization rates, yields, process and geographical diversification, future expansion plans and business strategy. Such forward looking statements are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties that can cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements, including risks related to the flat panel display industry, the TFT-LCD market, acceptance of and demand for our products, technological and development risks, competitive factors, and other risks described in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in our Form 20-F filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on May 3rd, 2011.
