Demand for protective components is expected to rise further in 2024, and suppliers will rely on their target markets for growth, according to industry sources in Taiwan.
Thinking Electronic Industrial and Polytronics Technology (PTTC), two manufacturers of protective components, recently held individual investor conferences. Thinking is focusing on three applications: electric vehicles, home appliances, and consumer electronics, whereas PTTC indicated that it will actively develop cooling solutions in 2024, with a future focus on automotive, industrial control, AIoT, and other applications.
Through the development of high-voltage and high-current materials, PTTC is expanding its target markets beyond mobile phones, according to the company. It has also expanded client-side design input initiatives for new products and raised the proportion of customized products.
Simultaneously, PTTC is pushing the development of thermal conductive materials and market growth application technology for its thermal conductive boards (TCB) business segment while overcoming industry pioneers' hurdles.
Upon reviewing its operations in 2023, PTTC has observed a progressive upward trajectory in its overall gross profit margin, accompanied by a decline in losses. Inventory backlogs have developed due to customers purchasing significant quantities of products in 2022. As a result, the entire year of 2023 has been impacted by customer inventory.
Furthermore, losses at subsidiary Tclad Technology have been gradually reduced. Tclad was formerly Germany-based Henkel's thermal clad dielectric material business, which PTTC acquired in 2020 for US$26 million. The subsidiary has been losing money in recent quarters.
PTTC disclosed plans to proceed with a merger between subsidiary Tclad and its TCB division in February 2024, intending to combine company resources from Europe, the US, and Asia by 2024, reducing expenditures and administrative expenses. In other words, in 2024, it will concentrate on cooling products.
According to PTTC, revenue will exhibit a growth trend in 2024.
According to Thinking Electronic, EV product revenue will continue to grow in 2024 as demand in the European home appliance market will level off, and mobile phone users' buying power will progressively increase.
Simultaneously, Thinking's active deployment of solar energy and other energy storage technologies has resulted in the segment's revenue contribution remaining in the low single digits since 2022.
Article translated by Jessie Shen
