HannStar Board and Gold Circuit Electronics, both of whom mainly make notebook PCBs, expect their sales and shipments in the second quarter of 2011 to outperform those in the first quarter, despite the period being the traditional off season.
HannStar said that judging from the present order visibility, shipments are likely to increase by up to 10% sequentially in the second quarter. Orders so far for May have outpaced those for April, the company indicated, adding that it has also begun taking orders for June.
HannStar posted NT$2.05 billion (US$72 million) in April consolidated revenues, up 2.9% on month and 12.1% on year. Consolidated sales for the first four months of 2011 totaled NT$7.06 billion, almost flat from the NT$7.1 bllion registered a year ago.
HannStar shipped a total of 20.5 million notebook PCBs in the first quarter, down slightly from 20.7 million units in the fourth quarter of 2010. Meanwhile, PCBs used in server and networking applications accounted for 9% of company revenues in the first quarter from 6% previously, the company revealed.
HannStar has a monthly production capacity of 6.5 million square feet, including 250,000 square feet for HDI boards. It currently has no plans to expand capacity in 2011.
GCE estimated consolidated revenues would likely increase 10-15% sequentially in the second quarter. The company generated NT$1.415 billion in April consolidated sales, down 6.5% on month but up 8.3% on year.
GCE expects May sales to stay flat on month, as its production lines in China are already operating at full capacity. Demand coming from the notebook and tablet PC sectors remains strong, the company said.
GCE accumulated NT$5.25 billion in consolidated revenues from January through April, representing a 8.8% rise from the same period of 2010.
GCE said it is looking to expand capacity for HDI boards in 2011. Monthly capacity at its factory site in Suzhou, China, will reach 200,000 square feet of HDI boards in the third quarter of 2011 bringing GCE's total production capacity for the product segment to 400,000 square feet a month.