Matsushita boosts PDP market share in Q4-research

SEOUL, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Japan's Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. (6752.T) boosted its share of the plasma display panel (PDP) market in the fourth quarter to reclaim the top position over South Korean rivals, DisplaySearch said.

A report by the U.S. market research firm, dated on Tuesday, showed global plasma panel shipments rose only 3 percent from a year earlier and fell 4 percent from the third quarter due to competition with liquid crystal display (LCD) panels.

Fourth-quarter PDP shipments totalled 2.7 million units, worth $1.8 billion -- down 15 percent from a year earlier as panel prices dropped to a record low.

The battle between LCD and PDP for flat screen televisions have tilted to the LCD makers' advantage so far as LCD players such as Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (005930.KS) and LG.Philips LCD Co. Ltd. (034220.KS) slash prices and leverage on their larger capacity.

"The decline can be attributed to loss of share to LCD TVs at (the smaller-than-50 inch segment)," DisplaySearch said.

It added the competition, coupled with the limited market size for larger panels, resulted in an increase in channel inventories and reduced panel demand.

Matsushita took a 40.1 percent share in the PDP market in the October-December quarter with a 27 percent shipment growth, up from 30.4 percent in the previous quarter.

South Korea's LG Electronics Inc. (066570.KS) saw shipments falling by 36 percent from the third quarter, resulting in a 21.5 percent market share compared with 32.5 percent.

Third-ranked Samsung SDI Co. (006400.KS) also reported a 14 percent shipment decline, taking a 20.8 percent share in the fourth quarter.