Demand for LED backlighting rebounded in the first half of 2013, Taiwan-based LED chipmaker Epistar believes demand for LED lighting will show strong growth in the second half of 2013 and lighting applications may account for 35-40% of its total revenues.

LED firms said judging from past experience, international tier-one TV makers usually slow down procurement in July-August with only China-based makers continuing to procure products. However, as China's energy-saving appliance procurement subsidies are set to end soon, demand for TV backlighting products in the third quarter may turn weak.

Benefitting from rising demand for LED backlight and lighting products, Epistar has seen capacity utilization rate for blue LEDs rise above 90% in the second quarter. Market observers believe Epistar may see second-quarter revenues grow 30-40% sequentially. The observers also noted that demand for backlight applications is still stronger than demand for lighting, and revenues from backlighting products are likely to account for 50% and lighting 25-30% of total second-quarter revenues for Epistar.