HannStar Board, Gold Circuit Eye 40% PCB Shipment Growth for 2008

Taipei, Jan. 21, 2008 (CENS)--With the world's top two contract suppliers of notebook PCs, namely Quanta Computer Inc. and Compal Electronics Inc., raising their shipment projections by 25% on average for 2008 from 2007, HannStar Board Corp. and Gold Circuit Electronics Ltd., two major Taiwan-based makers of PCB (printed circuit board) for notebook PC, both forecast a 40% growth in PCB shipment for the year, according to company sources.

Affected by shortages of components for notebook PCs and a seasonal recession, HannStar Board and Gold Circuit, already ranking as No. 1 and No. 2 suppliers of this kind in the world, both suffered a monthly drop of 15.45% and 0.14%, respectively, in their sales revenue in December 2007.

However, Gold Circuit noted that despite its weak shipment of PCBs for notebook PCs in December 2007, the firm still enjoyed an influx of orders for other models used in consumer electronics, especially its rigid flex boards for MP3 players, which contributed 10% to its December revenue of NT$1.8 million in 2007.

Gold Circuit reported combined revenue of NT$1.925 billion for December and NT$19.455 billion for the entire year of 2007, respectively up 28.24% and 28.38% from a year earlier. As to HannStar Board, it posted the corresponding figures of NT$1.589 billion and NT$18.565 billion for the same period, growing by 23.91% and 42.06% from last year.

HannStar Board roughly projected its shipment of PCBs for notebook PCs to surge by 42.86% to 60 million units for 2008 from 42 million units posted a year earlier, while Gold Circuit expected the corresponding figure to soar by 42.31% to 37 million units from 26 million units.

As Quanta and Compal have moved to build manufacturing plants in Vietnam, HannStar Board and Gold Circuit both say they are still pondering whether to follow suit or not. Nevertheless, large-sized notebook PC suppliers' move to set up plants in Vietnam is expected to bolster formation of a sound supply chain for the products, and, as a result, PCB suppliers will be more willing to build plants there, according to HannStar Board.

Shipment of World’s Top 2 Suppliers of PCBs for NB PCs
Company	Shipment in 2007	Global Market Share in 2007	Shipment for 2008	Global Market Share for 2008
HannStar Board Corp.	40-42 million units	40-42%	48-60 million units	40-50%
Gold Circuit Electronics Ltd.	25-26 million units	25-26%	37 million units	31%
Source: Companies