Reported 12 months ago
As of June 30, 2024, the Chairman of membrane touch switch (MTS) manufacturer Ko Ja-KY (5215), Lin Zhi Feng, mentioned that with the normal recovery of the laptop industry and the AI PC driving force in the second half of the year, operations are expected to be better than the first half. The company will gradually see benefits in new applications and vertical integration, with an increasing proportion of shipments in keyboard backlight modules. Additionally, automotive monitoring components have also entered car seat factories and will start shipping in the second half of the year. Ko Ja-KY's combined revenue in the first five months of this year was about 1.032 billion NTD, a growth of 23.69% compared to the same period last year. Lin Zhi Feng states that although the PC market was sluggish last year with customers continually adjusting inventory, this year, although inventory levels are normal, market conditions are not very good, primarily consisting of rush orders and short orders. Preparation for AI PC is underway, with the addition of a Copilot button, requiring a redesign of the keyboard, and new products are expected to start shipping in the second half of the year, anticipating that market demand in the second half will be better than the first. Ko Ja-KY's Vietnam factory entered into mass production last year, with overall revenue growing by 40%. As the brand factory and keyboard factory supply chain gradually takes shape and customers shift production away from non-Chinese markets, it is expected that the production scale of the Vietnam factory will gradually increase. In addition, more and more laptop and keyboard factories are establishing production bases in Thailand to serve customers nearby. Earlier this year, Ko Ja-KY purchased land and a factory in Thailand, focusing on service, warehousing, quality control, etc., with the main production capacity still supported by China and Vietnam, and adjustments will be made based on customer trends. Ko Ja-KY has been investing in the development of keyboard backlight modules in recent years, with products becoming slimmer, more energy-efficient, and continuously receiving orders from Taiwanese and American brand customers, showing significant shipment growth last year. It is estimated that this year, the shipment proportion of traditional LED backlight modules and Mini LED backlight modules will increase to 15%-20%. As for upstream materials, previous investments in Fored Fine Chemical and Basic Electronics Technology have entered the chemical materials market such as silver paste and hydrophobic agents, stable profits are being obtained not only for internal use but also for external sales, with plans for developing other new materials. Ko Ja-KY is also actively expanding into non-keyboard areas and has made progress in the medical industry in recent years, with new applications including blood glucose test strips, health monitoring patches, and medical beauty masks.
Source: YAHOO