(Yicai Global) April 7 -- Chinese display panel giant BOE Technology Group intends to sell more than 100 million flexible organic light-emitting displays this year, betting on the thin and versatile technology for handsets and wearables.

The goal involves achieving full production capacity, senior executives of the Beijing-based supplier said during an online meeting held yesterday.  

Last year, BOE sold almost 60 million flexible active matrix organic light-emitting displays, one type of the lightweight rollable display, said Chairman Chen Yanshun. That resulted in a 17 percent global market share, coming in second in the world.

The company is boosting its numbers. BOE’s AMOLED output exceeded 10 million per month for the first time last December, according to the 2021 annual report.

The current utilization rate of BOE’s flexible OLED production is maintained at a reasonable level, while the product qualification rate is above 80 percent, Gao added.

Flexibility is in fashion but BOE’s largest profit source is still liquid crystal displays. It is very difficult to achieve profitability in the flexible OLED business as investments are huge while the market is rather sensitive to price, according to the display business CEO.

BOE has three flexible OLED production lines, but the one in Chongqing is still in the initial stage of product verification, Gao disclosed.

The firm is financing its new direction through other means. Besides seizing display orders for mobile phones and wearables, BOE is working hard to expand into new market applications to break even in its OLED business, said Liu Xiaodong, vice chairman and president. 

But the income streams may not widen. The rising food and energy prices caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict will suppress consumers' incomes and demand and delay a rebound in global LCD prices, said Chen. 

BOE will continue to pay attention to changes in the raw material and downstream markets and ensure timely delivery to customers around the world, Chen added. 

Editors: Tang Shihua, Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi