Pacific Crest Analysts Went To China And Offered Updates On Samsung, Apple

In a report published Monday, Pacific Crest analyst John Vinh commented that his quarterly handset checks were mixed with weak overall demand in China. According to Vinh, supply-chain partners indicate Chinese demand for smartphones was weaker than expected on delays of FDD-LTE licenses and excess inventories. However, the analyst saw signs of stabilization after Chinese New Year and the second quarter should show "modest" growth of five to 10 percent quarter over quarter, but below normal season expectations of 20 percent growth. Meanwhile,

has increased its outlook for the GS6 to four million units in the first quarter from prior estimates of two million to three million units. In the second quarter, the company expects to ship 20 million to 22 million units, above prior estimates of 18 million to 20 million. Accordingly, the analyst is now expecting demand to drive annual shipments of the GS6 in 2015 to over 45 million units, marking a 22 percent year over year increase versus the GS5 in 2014. Finally, Vinh stated that

has seen a healthy demand for its iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in the quarter, as supply-chain partners indicated demand continued to track better than seasonal. Vinh added that component orders in the first quarter are tracking better than seasonal at -15 percent to -20 percent sequentially. For the second quarter, given lean channel inventories, demand for component orders should be flat to down five percent sequentially.