TAIWANESE PLAYERS: NH Investment said that the multilayer ceramic capacitor industry has been recovering rapidly, helped by iPhone and 5G smartphone sales

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 09, 2019
By: Chen Cheng-hui  /  Staff reporter

Taiwanese multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) manufacturers are recovering faster than anticipated, backed by the release of 5G-enabled smartphones in China and robust sales of Apple Inc’s iPhone 11 series, analysts said last week.

Along with Taiwanese firms, such as Yageo Corp (國巨) and Walsin Technology Corp (華新科技), global players like Murata Manufacturing Co Ltd in Japan and Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co Ltd in South Korea are also expected to benefit from a full-fledged industry recovery from the first half of next year, analysts said.

“The MLCC industry has been recovering rapidly as of late, helped by brisk sales of new iPhone models and rising 5G smartphone sales in China,” Seoul-based NH Investment & Securities Co analyst Kyuha Lee said in a note on Thursday. “We note that Taiwanese MLCC players, which are particularly sensitive to shifts in industry conditions due to their high supply portions, around 50 percent on average, to distributors, have confirmed that inventory levels are declining and lead times are expanding.”

“In terms of prices, Taiwanese MLCC manufacturers should see average selling price [ASP] declines of about 5 percent in Q4 of 2019 — an indication that future ASP declines should narrow,” Lee said.    [FULL  STORY]