DFI Sees Strong Orders, Aims for Double-Digit Growth, Expands AI Server Line in Taoyuan

(CNA, by reporter Wu Chia-hao, Taipei, 19th) Industrial computer manufacturer DFI held an investor conference today, where General Manager Jeni Tien stated that DFI has strong order performance in factory automation, robotics, and cybersecurity. The overall book-to-bill (B/B) ratio from January to April reached 1.8, making double-digit annual revenue growth "very likely." The main challenges lie in material supply and maintaining gross profit margin. Tien stated that DFI acts as a computing platform provider in the artificial intelligence (AI) field. This year, it has expanded its system manufacturing capacity at its Taoyuan plant, establishing a dedicated production line to support the production and manufacturing of AI servers, while concurrently investing in R&D for high-end server platforms from Intel, AMD, and others. She said the main challenge is currently on the supply side, not the demand side. Squeezed by demand from AI and data centers, lead times for boards and most components have lengthened. DFI will begin actively stocking materials from the end of 2025, adopting multiple supply sources, dynamic procurement, and collaboration with the supply chain to reduce the risk of material shortages. Last year's fourth quarter, DFI's operating profit was impacted by bad debt provisions at its Chinese subsidiary, leading to an operating loss. Tien frankly admitted this had a significant impact on DFI's profitability and hurt team morale. She revealed that over the past six months, the group has initiated internal improvement mechanisms for its overseas subsidiaries, re-examining and adjusting details such as approval authority, credit control, and transaction processes to effectively reduce risks while expanding the organization and growing overseas business. Looking ahead to the second quarter, DFI expects opportunities from medical and defense-related projects in Europe and the US to sustain growth momentum, and it will continue to promote the optimization of its product mix and profit structure. DFI's consolidated revenue for the first quarter of this year was approximately NT$3.031 billion, a 6% increase quarter-on-quarter and a 19% increase year-on-year. Growth momentum came from industrial automation demand in the US, as well as developments in defense, communications, and rugged edge computing in Asia. Due to an increased proportion of high-value applications, the gross profit structure improved, with a gross margin of 24.9%, up 1.8 percentage points quarter-on-quarter but down 4 percentage points year-on-year. Net profit attributable to parent company owners was approximately NT$86.81 million, a 43-fold increase quarter-on-quarter but a 19% decrease year-on-year; earnings per share were NT$0.76. In terms of revenue contribution by application, industrial automation accounted for 46% in the first quarter of this year, embedded products for 36%, and the cybersecurity business unit for 18%. (Editor: Yang Lan-hsuan)