Flexible PCB (FPCB) and chassis maker Ichia Technologies has reported pre-tax profits of NT$265 million (US$8.82 million) for the first quarter of 2014, nearly double from the previous quarter.
First-quarter gross margin stood at 16% compared to 13% of the previous quarter and 11% a year earlier.
Ichia expects its earnings and gross margin to continue to improve quarter on quarter in 2014, buoyed by its deployments in new processes and the roll-out of its fine-line FPCB products, according to company president YH Sun.
Ichia's first production line for fine-line FPCBs will begin volume production in the second quarter of 2014 with a rate of 20,000 square meters a month, Sun revealed.
Currently, LCM module applications account for 30% of Ichia's total shipments of FPCBs, followed by touch panel applications at 25-30% and in-car devices at 22%.
Sales of FPCBs to the automobile sector have been growing rapidly and have become a stable source of income, Sun noted. Shipments of FPCBs to the segment accounted for just 7% of total sales in 2012.
