Q3 optical device market fell slightly by 1.57 billion US dollars

According to professional market research and analysis company Ovum, Q311 global light device market fell to 1.57 billion US dollars, which is the second consecutive quarter of the market shrinking. Due to the suspension of production due to flooding in Thailand and the continued weakness in the market, the company’s Q411 forecast was a double-digit decline.

Oylum Inniss, an analyst at Ovum and the author of the report, said that the uncertain macro economy has caused the market to shrink. Although the 3Q11 global optical device market declined slightly, the market leader Finisar's sales revenue increased 3% QoQ, but the annual market share as of 3Q11 declined.

Due to the impact of flooding, continued macroeconomic uncertainties, and strong price pressures that caused price declines in 2012, Inniss expects the global optical device market to remain weak in the first half of 2012.

“We learned from mainstream device vendors that there are strong price pressures in the current negotiations and that the specific impact will be reflected in 2012. Most of the negotiations' results tend to fall below the lower limit of the traditional price cuts. The flooding in Thailand has further intensified the already fiercely competitive pricing environment. Lower prices will affect sales revenue and the bottom line,” said Inniss.

Among the top ten optical device vendors, Fujitsu Optical Device Co., Ltd. saw the largest increase from the previous quarter, an increase of 28%, and a year-on-year increase of up to 50%. Oclaro had the weakest performance and its sales revenue fell 6% from the previous quarter.

Despite this, Inniss stated that the market will have strong growth during the period from the second quarter to the third quarter of 2012. "Even if macroeconomic uncertainties still exist, pent-up demand will drive strong market growth in the second half of 2012," he said.