Sharp plans to sell second Kameyama plant to Foxconn as it downsizes LCD panel business
Japanese electronics company Sharp has decided to sell one of its LCD factories (Kameyama Plant No. 2) in Kameyama City, Mie Prefecture, western Japan, to its parent company Foxconn.
The LCD TVs produced at the plant were once known as the “Kameyama model,” and played an important role in enhancing Sharp's global brand image.
Sharp decided to sell the plant in order to downsize its LCD panel business and improve its financial performance as panel prices fell and profitability declined due to increased production by Chinese manufacturers.
The Kameyama plant currently produces small and medium-sized LCD panels used in smartphones, flat panels, PCs, and other applications, and consists of two plants (Kameyama Plant No. 1, Kameyama Plant No. 2), which is scheduled to be sold to Foxconn this time for the Kameyama Plant No. 2.
Compared with the first Kameyama plant, the second Kameyama plant crop rate (capacity utilization) is lower, has been adjusted in June 2024 to the original capacity of about 80%, Sharp expects to take advantage of the sale of low-crop rate of the plant, to improve the profit and loss of the LCD panel business, and strive for a turnaround in profitability.
Due to the sluggishness of the LCD panel business, Sharp has accumulated a loss of 410 billion yen in the two-year period ending FY2023. In order to revitalize its operations, Sharp has indicated that it will downsize its LCD panel business, and its Sakai plant, which produces large-size LCD panels for TVs, will stop production in August 2024.