Industry Overview and Global Market

PCBs are key components of various electronic products. They are used in computers, communications, and various consumer electronic products and equipment. In recent years, they have been widely used in the automotive, industrial, medical, military, and aerospace industries. Therefore, the development of this industry is driven by the advancement of modern science and technology and is closely related to the demand for various end products. According to Prismark's production value data, Unimicron’s consolidated PCB revenue to account for 4.8% of the global PCB production in 2023.

In 2023, benefiting from the development of AI-related products, new technologies and products rolling out, however, under the impact of Russo-Ukrainian War, global inflation, inventory correction, and geopolitical tensions, market situation did not show any significant recovery throughout the year. Looking forward to 2024, being affected by interest rate hikes, inventory correction, Russo-Ukrainian War, global inflation, and geopolitical tensions, market situation may not recover in the first half of the year; but there is a chance that the second half of the year will see signs of a rebound. In the long run, the huge business opportunities of AI, 5G, AIoT, high-frequency, high-speed demand, and high-performance computing in the future, will diversify and broaden the application of PCB industry, especially high-end substrate.

The Global Printed Circuit Board Market(Unit: US$ million)

Products and Services

Unimicron mainly consists of three SBUs: Printed Circuit Board (PCB) and Carrier. We are now the world’s second-largest PCB and Carrier manufacturer in revenue and the main supplier of mobile High-Density Interconnect (HDI) and Carrier boards. Unimicron’s main production bases are in Taiwan (Taoyuan and Hsinchu), South China (Shenzhen), Central China (Huangshi), and East China (Kunshan and Suzhou). Taiwan Facilities offer high-end products, whereas Mainland China Facilities focus on mass production. Unimicron has business divisions and representative offices in America, Europe, and Asia, and production bases in Germany and Japan to provide comprehensive services to our customers nearby.

Development Trends of Products

The mainstream applications of end electronic products are multi-performance integration, high-speed computing, large screens, energy saving and miniaturization. The growth potential of market applications comes from network communication products such as servers, data centers, automotive electronics driven by development of electric vehicles and smart cars, and new applications of 5G, AIoT, etc. With the introduction of high-speed computing products and 5G-related devices, the demand for high-end carrier processes has increased significantly. The Company shall improve customers’ design freedom and product reliability; so that the stability, speed and low latency technologies of product signal transmission can be continuously improved and upgraded. The demand for FPC and RF products mainly benefited from the trend of multifunctional, light and thin handheld electronic devices. Customers’ designs largely adopt FPC unique features such as lightness, thinness, and flexural strength to connect the signal transmission between the modules and the motherboard in a limited space, to effectively reduce the internal space and weight of the device.

As the complexity of end products increases, the packaging technology’s requirements for high frequency, high performance, and low power consumption make the chip design move toward high I/O density and fine pitch, high heat dissipation, and superior electrical characteristics, which in turn drive the related carrier requirements of 3D system packaging, embedded components, ultra-fine lines, low power consumption and others. Some products are affected by market competition and structural changes, and the demand for low-cost solutions cannot be ignored. However, in terms of overall technology trends, in conjunction with the next generation of process development in the semiconductor industry, the carrier industry continues to develop relevant high-level processes and cooperate with customers to expand product applications.

Major Products' Sales by Region(Unit: NT$ Thousand)

Sales Volume and Value

Financial Performance

The Group’s consolidated revenue and net profit in 2023 were respectively NT$104.036 billion and NT$12.225 billion. In 2023, benefiting from the development of AI-related products, new technologies and products rolling out, however, under the impact of Russo-Ukrainian War, global inflation, inventory correction, and geopolitical tensions, market situation did not show any significant recovery throughout the year. PCBs are key components of various electronic products, which are used in computers, automobiles, communications, and various consumer electronic products and devices, and in recent years, they are widely used in automotive, industrial, medical, military, and aerospace fields, etc.