Apple Inc’s major suppliers in Taiwan’s printed-circuit board (PCB) and IC substrate industry reported bigger-than-expected revenue increases for last month, as the iPhone maker has asked its supply-chain firms to pull in orders to avoid higher US tariffs to be imposed on China-assembled iPhones in December.
Moreover, the third quarter is traditionally a peak season for the PCB industry, with short-term growth mainly coming from stocking demand from handset vendors ahead of new product launches.
Based on various PCB makers’ regulatory filings submitted to the Taiwan Stock Exchange last week, Compeq Manufacturing Co (華通), which produces multilayer and double-sided PCBs, saw its revenue rise 16.83 percent monthly and 12.71 percent annually to NT$5.58 billion (US$178.5 million), while rival Unimicron Technology Corp (欣興) said that revenue increased 10.58 percent monthly and 7.93 percent annually to NT$7.97 billion.
Zhen Ding Technology Holding Ltd (臻鼎) saw its revenue advance 26.06 percent from the previous month, but drop 2.57 percent annually to NT$11.82 billion.
Flexium Interconnect Inc (台郡) reported that revenue was up 3.67 percent monthly, but down 3.54 percent annually to NT$2.63 billion, while Career Technology Co’s (嘉聯益) revenue fell 7.89 percent from the previous month, but surged 25.83 percent from a year earlier to NT$1.61 billion.
Unitech Printed Circuit Board Corp (燿華) had a monthly increase of 3.03 percent to NT$2.08 billion, 14.85 percent higher than a year earlier, while Kinsus Interconnect Technology Corp (景碩) reported that revenue grew 2.13 percent monthly, but fell 8.2 percent annually to NT$2.02 billion.
Elite Material Co (台光電) and Iteq Corp (聯茂), which manufacture copper-clad laminates (CCLs) for PCBs, reported record sales of NT$2.36 billion and NT$2.17 billion respectively for last month amid rising demand for 5G and networking infrastructure, while another CCL supplier, Taiwan Union Technology Corp (台燿), saw sales drop to NT$1.54 billion due to delayed shipments of high-end products, the companies said.
On the local main bourse, PCB and CCL makers remained mainstream stocks in the past few months, benefiting from market expectations of a persistent migration of PCB specifications and opportunities from the rise of 5G mobile technology, such as increased demand for high-density interconnect boards for 5G smartphones, analysts said.
Last week, Jih Sun Securities Investment Consulting Co (日盛投顧), KGI Securities Investment Advisory Co (凱基投顧) and President Capital Management Corp (統一投顧) raised their target price for Compeq to NT$39, NT$41 and NT$42 respectively.
JPMorgan Securities (Taiwan) Ltd increased its fair price on Unimicron to NT$54 and Taishin Securities Investment Advisory Co (台新投顧) retained its “buy” call on the stock, while CL Securities Taiwan Co Ltd (台灣匯立證券) upgraded its investment rating on Taiwan Union Technology to “outperform.”
Contract chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) yesterday said it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Polar Semiconductor LLC to collaborate on the production of 8-inch wafers in the US. The collaboration aims to strengthen 8-inch wafer manufacturing in the US amid Washington’s efforts to increase onshore manufacturing of semiconductors, contribute to supply chain resilience against shifting geopolitical dynamics, and ensure a secure domestic supply of power semiconductors critical to automotive, electric grids, robotic manufacturing and data centers, the companies said in a joint statement. Under the MOU, Polar and UMC will identify devices for Polar to manufacture at
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Two companies wholly owned by the daughter of the founder of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Monday reported to the Taiwan Stock Exchange that they would dispose of all of the Hon Hai shares they hold. In filings with the exchange, Hong Wei Investment Co (鋐維) said it would sell the 2.771 million Hon Hai shares it holds and Frontier Investment Corp (承鋒投資) said it would sell its 2.409 million Hon Hai shares from tomorrow until Jan. 3 next year. The two companies are wholly owned and chaired by Shirley Gou (郭曉玲), the eldest daughter of Hon Hai founder Terry
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