Friday, November 8, 2013. Universal Display Corporation (“UDC,” NASDAQ: OLED) reported revenues as expected that were strictly in line with the OLED industry’s previously reported unit sales for the third quarter for OLED displays for mobile devices. However, its margins and red emitter sales continued their rapid declines, and it actually reversed its income tax accounting from an expense of $6.5 million in the second quarter to an INCOME item of $1.1 million in the third quarter.
Importantly, any informed observer can see that UDC actually guided revenues down not up. UDC has reported revenues of $97.2 million for the year. It is filling in losses in higher margin emitter sales with lower margin commodity chemical sales. This increased its reported revenues. Sales of OLED displays for mobile devices are growing. Even assuming unit sales for the fourth quarter for OLED displays for mobile devices remain at current rates, UDC must report at least $150 million in revenues. Yet UDC gave revenue guidance of $142 to $144 million and no guidance for earnings per share much less pricing and product mix guidance, simply and repeatedly stating the it “really can’t comment,” or “we don’t know” or “we really can’t talk.”
Most importantly, UDC confessed that “obviously there’s competition.” UDC has spent decades claiming it “owns” the business.