AI Demand Ignites, PCB Group March Revenue Soars

Global PCB giant Zhen Ding-KY today announced its March consolidated revenue of NT$15.443 billion, a month-on-month increase of 31.76% and a year-on-year increase of 7.18%, setting a new record for the same period in history; its Q1 revenue was NT$40.728 billion, a year-on-year increase of 1.61%, also refreshing the historical high for the same period. Zhen Ding-KY stated that March revenue continued to benefit from the strong growth in demand for high-end AI-related products, with server and optical communication revenue increasing by over 190% year-on-year, setting a new single-month historical high; IC substrates accelerated growth driven by high-end applications, increasing by over 70% year-on-year, also refreshing a single-month record. Overall, in Q1 this year, high-end AI applications have clearly become the core driving force for growth, with server, optical communication, and IC substrate businesses collectively accounting for nearly 20% of revenue, and the product portfolio continues to develop towards high-end. Zhen Ding pointed out that starting from Q2, as customers' next-generation platforms gradually enter mass production, the momentum of server and optical communication businesses will increase quarter by quarter; IC substrates will benefit from strong demand related to AI computing power and grow quarter by quarter. In 2026, long-term cooperation consensus has been reached with several key customers for future-generation high-end AI product demand, and Zhen Ding will further increase capital expenditure to over NT$80 billion. Asia Electronic Material's March consolidated revenue was NT$117 million, similar to the same period last year; its cumulative Q1 consolidated revenue was NT$314 million, a year-on-year decrease of 6.23%. Asia Electronic Material stated that after the Lunar New Year, it adjusted its production capacity allocation, shifting large-volume mature narrow-width processes to the Dongtai factory for production, while the Kunshan factory maintained high-tech threshold products; in addition, in recent years, price competition in the flexible PCB industry within China has become increasingly fierce, and the order-taking strategy will be carefully adjusted. Asia Electronic Material stated that this year it will continue to expand its layout in high-end application fields, covering semiconductor, automotive energy storage, server, and aerospace and defense markets, and actively promote the sampling and certification process of high-end new products. Ju Hsiang Enterprise's March consolidated revenue of NT$148 million set a new historical high, an increase of 68% from February and 32% from the same period last year; its cumulative Q1 consolidated revenue was NT$364 million, a year-on-year increase of 21%. Ju Hsiang stated that the growth in March revenue mainly benefited from the simultaneous increase in shipment momentum from key customers in Taiwan and China, driving overall revenue performance. Among them, the Taiwan market continued to benefit from the stable growth in demand for AI servers and high-end substrates, with strong shipment performance of high-end materials; the Chinese market was fully supported by products from low-end to high-end, with a significant increase in overall shipments. Copper clad laminate manufacturer Taiming-KY's March revenue settled at NT$481 million, a month-on-month increase of 35% and a year-on-year increase of 33%; its cumulative Q1 revenue reached NT$1.24 billion, a year-on-year increase of 22% and a quarter-on-quarter increase of 12%. Taiming-KY achieved double-digit growth in both single-month and cumulative figures this year, with performance returning to significant growth trajectory, creating a new high in nearly 4 years. Taiming-KY stated that the revenue increase mainly benefited from the long-term layout of high-margin aerospace polyimide (PI) materials bearing fruit. In January this year, orders for this product application set a new historical high, and in March, it refreshed the record again, with a month-on-month increase of 52%; its cumulative Q1 revenue doubled year-on-year, and increased by 50% quarter-on-quarter. Looking ahead, Taiming-KY stated that in addition to benefiting from international tensions and increased defense budgets in various countries, it has also been recognized by semiconductor test equipment manufacturers, with continuous increase in new material certification and mass production. Applications such as rocket launch mainboards and edge boards for low-earth orbit satellites, AR, VR, robots, and manned aerial vehicles have been certified by end-users and initial orders have begun to scale up. In addition, market prices for raw materials such as fiberglass cloth and resin continue to rise. Taiming-KY stated that it has successfully passed on price increases to customers, and the effect of price increases is expected to gradually materialize and contribute to revenue. (Editor: Chang Liang-chih) 1150407