AU Optronics (AUO) expects its fourth-quarter large-size panel shipments to drop 6-9% on quarter. Small- to medium-size panel shipments will fall 10%, company president Paul Peng said at an October 30 investors conference.

　　AUO utilized about 90% of its total production capacity during the third quarter and will adjust overall capacity utilization depending on market conditions and inventory levels in the fourth quarter, Peng noted.

　　AUO has supplied 65-inch curved Full HD TV panels to Sony, and 55-inch models to China-based vendor Changhong, Peng said. In addition, AUO will provide curved Ultra HD TV panels to China-based LCD TV vendors as early as January 2014. More than one million Ultra HD TVs are expected to be sold globally in 2013 and demand in 2014 is likely to hike to 6-7 million units due to more vendors joining the market and a more mature supply chain, Peng said.

　　AUO saw huge sequential growth in sales of eTP, its common-use touch panel solution for use in notebooks, in the third quarter and will offer second-generation eTP for 11.6-, 14- and 15.6-inch notebooks in 2014.

　　TV panels accounted for 44% of AUO's third quarter consolidated revenues, mobile device panels 18%, mobile PC panels 17% and monitor panels 15%. In terms of panel sizes, 39-inch and above accounted for 39% of consolidated revenues, 20- to 39-inch for 17%, 10- to 20-inch 27% and below 10-inch 17%.

　　Panels shipped in the third quarter had a total area of 5.585 million square meters at ASP of US$606 per square meter.