AUO (AU Optronics) posted an annual net profit of NT$18.1 billion in 2014, the highest in six years and plans to earmark NT$40 billion for capital spending this year, reported Taipei Times on January 30. The company's capital expenditures in 2014 were around NT$17 billion. The panel maker will expand capacity at an 8.5-generation plant in Taiwan and a 6-generation plant using LTPS (Low Temperature PolySilicon) technology in China. Both facilities are expected to launch new capacity in 2016. AUO expects falling oil prices and growing replacement demand for HD flat-screen TVs and bigger smartphones to bolster the global LCD industry in 2015.