PCB and IC substrate provider Unimicron Technology expects about 60% of its capex this 12 months to be spent on IC substrate manufacturing.
Unimicron has put aside a capex of roughly NT$8.three billion (US$269.2 million) for 2019, stated the corporate, including that the deliberate capex had been down from the NT$8.98 billion allotted final 12 months.
Unimicron’s high-end IC substrate manufacturing traces are primarily at its manufacturing unit web site in Taiwan, the place the corporate will put its capex focus this 12 months.
Unimicron provides IC substrates together with ABF (ajinomoto build-up movie) and BT (bismaleimide triazine) substrates. The firm can be a supplier of HDI PCBs, versatile PCBs, rigid-flex boards and substrate-like PCBs.
Robust ABF substrate demand, in addition to steady development in demand for rigid-flex boards and substrate-like PCBs, boosted Unimicron’s profitability in 2018. Net revenue attributable to fairness holders of the corporate climbed to a six-year excessive of NT$1.71 billion final 12 months, with EPS coming to NT$1.15.
Nevertheless, Unimicron spokesperson Tsai Sheng Shen has expressed uncertainty about firm efficiency within the first half of 2019. Demand beginning the second half of this 12 months will decide the corporate’s development this 12 months, in response to Shen.
Unimicron’s PCB manufacturing utilization price will come to lower than 80% on common within the first quarter, whereas the common utilization price for IC substrate manufacturing will likely be between 70% and 75%, Shen stated. Seasonality is affecting negatively buyer demand, Shen added.
Of Unimicron’s 2018 revenues, IC substrate gross sales accounted for about 42% adopted by gross sales of HDI and different high-end PCBs with 38%, the corporate disclosed. Conventional PCB and versatile PCB gross sales accounted for about 14% and 5%, respectively of the entire revenues.
