Taiwan's leading PCB maker Zhen Ding Technology saw its revenues climb 1.47% on year to a record high of NT$120.22 billion (US$4 billion) in 2019, with industry sources saying the growth was mainly bolstered by better-than-expected sales of new iPhone devices released in late September.
The sources said that Zhen Ding is expected to land orders for supplying flexible antenna boards and SLP (substrate-like PCB) mainboards for new entry-level iPhone SE to be released in the first half of 2020. And in the second half, the company is expected to resume notable revenue growth on the mounting penetration of 5G handsets, and upgrades in all components specs for 5G iPhone will bring major growth momentum for the maker.
Apple has yet to finalize materials for flexible antenna boards for 5G iPhones, but Zhen Ding has a chance to replace Japanese peers as a major supplier of LCP (liquid crystal polymer) flexible antenna boards if adopted for new-generation iPhones as the company can now compete well in pricing, technology and production flexibility while also maintaining close partnerships with upstream suppliers of LCP materials, the sources said.
With its leading position in the SLP segment, Zhen Ding is also likely to join AT&S as suppliers of SLP mainboards for new iPhones in 2020, the sources said. As new iPhone APs are reportedly to be fabricated on TSMC's 5nm nodes, the ensuing specs upgrade will significantly push up unit prices of SLP mainboards.
Zhen Ding has set its capex for 2020 at a record high of over NT$12 billion, which will be used to support capacity expansions in diverse product lines including rigid-flex boards, IC substrates, and HDI boards in addition to flexible antenna boards and SLP boards.
Article translated by Willis Ke
