Global sales of plasma televisions surged 95 percent in the April-to-June quarter from a year earlier to 2.2 million units, bolstered by robust sales at Japan's Matsushita Electric Industrial, U.S. research firm DisplaySearch said.
Plasma display panel TVs took a 5 percent share of the worldwide TV market in the second quarter in unit terms, up from 4 percent in the first, the company said in a report dated Aug. 24.
Demand for flat-screen TVs, including ones with plasma and liquid crystal displays, is surging as falling prices lure consumers who want to trade in bulky cathode ray tubes for large, sleek televisions.
On a revenue basis, plasma TV sales grew 57 percent from a year earlier as price declines outpaced increases in the average size of televisions sold, DisplaySearch said.
Plasma TVs accounted for 20 percent of the global TV revenues in the second quarter, up from 18 percent in the first.
Matsushita, the maker of Panasonic brand, cemented its No. 1 position in the plasma TV market by increasing its share to 28.3 percent in the second quarter from 21.5 percent in the January-to-March quarter.
South Korea's LG Electronics ranked second with a 17.1 percent share, followed by its home rival, Samsung Electronics, with 13.6 percent, and Royal Philips Electronics with 10.3 percent.
LCD TV sales jumped 135 percent in the second quarter to 9.4 million units, accounting for 22 percent of the global TV market in unit terms, DisplaySearch said earlier this week.
