Sharp to double Europe LCD output
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Sharp is the world's biggest maker of LCD televisions.
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TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) -- Consumer electronics maker Sharp Corp says it plans to more than double production capacity for liquid crystal display (LCD) televisions at its plant in Spain to at least 40,000 units a month by next April to meet surging demand in Europe.
Sharp, the world's largest maker of LCD televisions, plans to halt production of bulky cathode ray tube (CRT) televisions by the end of this year at its plant in the northeast Catalonia region and focus solely on the flat-panel displays.
"Demand for flat TVs in Europe is growing faster than we expected. We expect the region will become the second biggest flat-TV market after Japan," a Sharp spokesman said Monday
The Osaka-based electronics company said it expected European LCD television sales to surpass its April forecast of 220,000 units for the year to March 31.
Sharp targets global LCD television sales of 1.5 million units in 2003-04.
Sharp holds more than half of the global market share for LCD TVs, outpacing rivals such as South Korea's Samsung Electronics at 17.4 percent and Sony Corp at 8.1 percent in 2002, according to research firm DisplaySearch.
The company assembles 20,000 liquid crystal display televisions a month at its Barcelona plant by importing basic parts and components, like LCD panels, from Japan.
In order to raise manufacturing capacity, Sharp aims to expand clean rooms, shift personnel and add production of LCD television with a screen diagonal of 37-inches to its product line-up early next year.
Shares in Sharp are up 1.93 percent to 1740 yen in morning trade. The Nikkei 225 is up 0.8 percent.
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