Flash | 05 Feb 2026 11:27:59 ET │ 8 pages Taiwan PCB & Laminates ABF/BT/CCL sector: read-across from Nittobo's results; continued glass shortage Taiwan PCB & Laminates 05 February 2026 Citi Research Nittobo posted results (see our Citi JP analyst's report here) on Feb 5th after-market. For ABF/BT substrate, though no details on T glass price hike magnitude from April is a bit disappointing, Nittobo's consideration of additional T glass capacity expansion along with further price hike looks favorable to ABF/ ...

Summary of Conference Call Records Industry Overview - **Industry**: Taiwan PCB & Laminates, specifically focusing on the ABF/BT sector - **Key Companies**: Unimicron Technology (3037.TW), NYPCB (8046.TW) Core Insights and Arguments Unimicron Technology - **December EPS**: Reported unaudited EPS of NT$0.78, lower than the expected NT$1.05 (Citi) and NT$1.44 (consensus) for 4Q25E [2] - **Gross Margin (GM) Impact**: GM profile in 4Q25E was negatively affected by the HDI segment due to a late ramp-up in the HDI Taiwan plant. Anticipated recovery from 2Q26E onwards [2] - **Market Position**: Unimicron is a major supplier for ASICs, including AWS' Trainium and Google's TPU, with increasing market share in Nvidia's AI GPU [2] - **Future Outlook**: Expected continuous expansion of ABF GM driven by high-end applications [2] NYPCB - **December EPS**: Reported unaudited EPS of NT$0.84, below the expected NT$1.27 (Citi) and NT$1.36 (consensus) for 4Q25E [3] - **GM Challenges**: The PCB segment negatively impacted GM in 4Q25E, but management's effective strategies in product mix and price hikes mitigated the negative effects [3] - **Material Support**: Nanya Plastics' support with T glass is expected to help NYPCB secure more orders and potential price hikes [3] - **Demand Forecast**: Anticipated strong demand from 800G switch and ASIC orders in 2026E [3] Sector Performance - **Earnings Revisions**: - Unimicron's 2026/27E earnings raised by 38%/81% due to better-than-expected GM recovery, with a new target price of NT$400 [11] - NYPCB's 2026/27E earnings raised by 12%/41%, with a new target price of NT$450 [11] - **Market Sentiment**: Both companies are viewed positively, with a bullish outlook on the ABF/BT substrate sector as the cycle is expected to begin [1] Additional Important Information - **Price Hikes**: Price hikes for ABF/BT products are noted, although not uniformly across the board [1] - **FX Impact**: Some earnings upside attributed to foreign exchange gains from NT$ depreciation in December [1] - **Sector View**: The overall sector view on ABF/BT substrate remains unchanged, with expectations of continued growth from October 2025 [1] Financial Metrics - **Unimicron's Financial Estimates**: - EPS for 2026E revised to NT$4.02 from NT$3.08, reflecting a 30% increase [13] - Gross margin expected to improve to 31.3% in 2027E from 22.8% [13] - **NYPCB's Financial Estimates**: - EPS for 2026E revised to NT$3.05 from NT$2.30, reflecting a 32% increase [17] - Gross margin expected to improve to 28.4% in 2027E from 23.0% [17] This summary encapsulates the key points from the conference call records, highlighting the performance and outlook of the Taiwan PCB & Laminates industry, particularly focusing on Unimicron and NYPCB.