HK Stock Market Move | KB LAMINATES (01888) rose over 5% as the acceleration in copper-clad laminate price increases drives significant performance growth. Citigroup expects another price hike in early October.

KB LAMINATES (01888) rose over 5%, reaching a gain of 5.06% to HK$48.14 as of the time of writing, with a transaction volume of HK$2.754 billion. In news, at the end of August this year, KB LAMINATES issued its seventh price increase notice to customers, announcing a uniform price increase of 10% for all thicknesses of FR-4 copper-clad laminates effective immediately. The price of PP semi-cured sheets with a thickness of 7628 (inclusive) and above will rise by 10%, while those below 7628 will increase by 20%. The notice explicitly pointed to upstream factors, indicating a growing shortage of core raw materials such as glass fabric and copper foil, alongside significant price increases. Notably, since March this year, KB LAMINATES has raised prices seven times, and when calculated with compound interest, the cumulative increase for FR-4 copper-clad laminates (over 1.3mm) has exceeded 100%. The accelerated price increases for copper-clad laminates further drove significant growth in the company's performance in the first half of this year. In the first half of this year, the company achieved a revenue of HK$14.904 billion, a year-on-year increase of 55%; the net profit attributable to shareholders was HK$2.887 billion, a year-on-year increase of 209%. Citigroup's research report indicates that it expects KB LAMINATES to raise the prices of copper-clad laminates again in early October to pass on costs and reaffirms its "Buy" rating with a target price of HK$95.