Samsung tops market in sales and revenue

Samsung was also on top for all of 2006 and the only supplier to earn more than a 10-per-cent market share.

In terms of brand share worldwide, Samsung led in the fourth quarter on a unit basis for the second consecutive quarter and on a revenue basis for the fourth consecutive quarter.

LG and TTE remained second and third at 9.4 and 8.8 per cent of market share respectively. Philips and Sony remained fourth (7.2 per cent) and fifth (7 per cent).

On a revenue basis, Samsung remained on top, but lost share after six consecutive quarters of share growth. Samsung remained first in Europe, but lost the top position in North America to Sony, which enjoyed the fastest revenue growth. Panasonic fell from third to fifth, while LG and Philips each moved up a position.

"This is our major achievement. We are the first in terms of unit sales and revenue for the first time in 34 years. We are pursuing the leadership position this year with a target to sell 11 million LCD units and three million plasma units," said Kwang-kee Park, managing director of Thai Samsung Electronics.

Last year, Samsung claimed the largest Thai market share in the LCD television segment, with annualised growth rates of 34.4 per cent in revenue and 34.7 per cent in sales.