Sony 2007 Annual Report Download - page 31

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28
Review of Operations
The Electronics business is comprised of televisions, video, audio, information and
communications equipment, components, semiconductors and other products. To
achieve future growth and to reinforce competitiveness and profitability, Sony is
concentrating investment of its Electronics business resources in development and
commercialization in the areas of high definition (HD) products, mobile electronics
and semiconductors and other devices, all of which are crucial to the differentiation
of Sony’s products.
Review of Operations
In the fiscal year ended March 31, 2007, the global market for liquid crystal display (LCD)
televisions totaled approximately 51.5 million units, 2.5 times its size in the previous year.
Although competition in the operating environment for the flat panel television industry was
harsh overall, efforts to heighten the appeal of our BRAVIA line of LCD televisions by focusing
on key strategic product features—namely larger screen sizes and Full HD (1920 x 1080-pixel)
resolution—supported brisk sales worldwide, pushing shipments of BRAVIA televisions up
2.3 times, to approximately 6.3 million units, and earning us the top global market share*.
* Source: DisplaySearch, revenue basis for calendar year 2006
This achievement reflected the development and incorporation of proprietary technologies
designed to achieve outstanding image quality and a wide color gamut, including the BRAVIA
Engine digital processor and the Live Color Creation backlight system, which enable these
televisions to deliver color and images of overwhelming beauty. Another factor was that we
were able to secure a stable supply of LCD panels from S-LCD Corporation (S-LCD), our
joint venture with Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., that produces amorphous thin-film transistor
(TFT) LCD panels. S-LCD currently produces seventh-generation panels on a fabrication line
with a monthly capacity of 90,000 panels. In the summer of 2007, S-LCD plans to commence
mass production on an eighth-generation line, with a monthly capacity of 50,000 panels.
The eighth-generation panels have a glass substrate size of 2200mm x 2500mm, which will
enable S-LCD to further reduce costs.
With the aim of creating a stronger supply structure in Europe, where rapid growth in the
market for LCD televisions is expected, we are building a new BRAVIA LCD TV plant in Nitra,
Slovakia, which is scheduled to come online in the summer of 2007 and will give us an
annual production capacity of 3 million units in Europe.
In addition to ensuring a stable supply structure, we will continue to leverage our advanced
technologies and performance features and superior design capabilities to expand our LCD
television business and ensure our position as the world’s leading LCD television brand.
Electronics
http://www.sony.net/electronics/
No. 1 in the Global Market for
LCD Televisions
(revenue basis for calendar year 2006)
Sony
16%
Sharp
12%
Philips
11%
LGE
7%
Toshiba
5%
Panasonic
4%
Samsung
15%
Other
30%
Source: DisplaySearch
LCD television
KDL-46X2500