Plasma TV shipments post strong growth in Q4 2005

Market research firm Displaysearch today said that shipments of plasma TVs increased 44% sequentially in the fourth quarter of 2005. Compared to Q4 of 2004, sales climbed 109% to 5.9 million units. Shipments exceeded expectations by 11% as plasma display panel module suppliers stretched their capacity to meet demand in a seasonally strong Q4, Displaysearch said.

Despite the substantial growth, plasma TVs actually lost share relative to Q3 2005 in the 40" 44" segment to LCD TVs, which achieved a sequential growth of more than 300%. The average price of plasma TVs continued their decline and landed at $2296 by the end of 2005 - which was 32% below the 2004 level.