The printed circuit board group has gradually recovered its revenue in normal working days in March. According to statistics from the Taiwan Printed Circuit Association (TPCA), both PCB raw material manufacturers in Taiwan on OTC and the listed market grew by 27.22% in March. But they were both affected by the off-season and conservative market sentiment, meaning a 13.84% drop in growth compared with that of the same period last year. The industry has stated that they are optimistic about the growth momentum from 5G business opportunities in the second half of the year, hoping to stimulate the demand for high-end circuit boards and drive the steady growth of company operations.

 

        Aurona Industries is currently the largest PCB drilling backup/entry board factory in Taiwan. Its products include PCB drilling backup/entry boards, Bakelite sheets, medium-density fiberboards, PCB cushion pads, aluminum lubrication entry boards, diamond coated routers, and others. Revenue in March grew 80.1% compared to that of February but was down by 13.6% compared with the same period last year. In anticipation of prospects in view in 2019, Aurona indicated that when 5G is launched, smartphones will be geared towards 5G for the first year and then upgraded into foldable models. Although it is found that demand for consumer electronics is slowing down, 5G requirements remain high with regard to heat and heat dissipation, and the demands for SLP, soft boards, and composites should gradually increase, triggering a demand for PCB consumables. As expected, gross profit margins are set to recover gradually, with a view that the profit should return within the growth track.

 

        Asia Electronic Material is the second largest FCCL plant in Taiwan. produces mainly flexible copper-clad laminate, coverlays, stiffener, and MPI connect plate. Its monthly revenue in March increased by 93.57%, with an annual increase of 1.29%. As indicated by Asia Electronic, the first quarter revenue was still affected by US mobile phone manufacturers, with the placement of overall orders remaining conservative, resulting in the fact that there was no significant growth in revenue. However, since mobile phone manufacturers in China are actively deploying 5G in the market, it should boost the demand for coverlay coverage. 

 

        In response to the huge business opportunities brought about by 5G, Asia Electronic has also strengthened the development of high-frequency substrates containing LCP and PI high-frequency substrates, FRCC, high-frequency pure rubber, bondply, high-frequency coverlays, and other high-frequency materials, and increased production capacity. It has also already begun producing wireless charging substrates and in-vehicle applications. The company has commissioned a new plant in Dongtai, Jiangsu Province which can produce up to 10 production lines for the production of 5G high-frequency, flexible copper-clad l laminate, and other related products. It is expected that the new plant will begin its first-stage capacity test in the third quarter of this year. After the increase in its production capacity, it is probable that it could help inject positive momentum for the operational growth of Asia Electronic. 

 

Topoint is a PCB Drill factory, and its primary business is the manufacture of PCB drills, drilling and routing services, and cutting tools. Its March revenue increased by 93.6%, with an annual increase of 1.29%. Topoint pointed out that although 5G has been a major issue this year, both the demand and order visibility remains unclear from the perspective of the terminal market, and that is why it prefers to strengthen its internal controls, improve efficiency, adjust its profit structure, amongst others measures, as its priority. At the same time, it will put greater efforts into technical efforts regarding in-vehicle and 5G-related applications. As for cutting saws and knives, there will also be more aggressive developments and certifications in new areas, and Topoint should strive to achieve a better profit-margin than that of last year. (News source: Commercial Times)