HK Stock Market Move | PCB concept leads the gains; PCB price increases transmit smoothly downstream; board makers' profitability is expected to recover.

PCB concept leads the gains. As of press time, DELTON (01989) rose 6.12% to HK$121.4; Victory Giant Technology (02476) rose 4.89% to HK$203.6; KINGBOARD HLDG (00148) rose 3.68% to HK$54.95; KB LAMINATES (01888) rose 3.02% to HK$48.44. On the news front, according to Shanghai Securities News, a PCB industry insider told reporters that in the first half of the year, due to reasons such as long-term order locking, PCB board manufacturers were unable to pass on cost increases from upstream electronic cloth and copper-clad laminates to downstream customers, and gross margins could instead decline. This led to a distinct feature in first-half performance: "profit growth at copper-clad laminate manufacturers was far higher than at board manufacturers." Currently, some board manufacturers have continuously adjusted their quotations, with new orders referencing material costs more based on delivery schedules, which will strongly restore profitability. Sinolink issued a research report stating that strong AI demand is driving both PCB prices and volumes higher. At present, multiple AI-PCB companies have strong order books, are producing and selling at full capacity, and are aggressively expanding production capacity. High earnings growth is expected to continue. AI copper-clad laminates are also in strong demand. Due to the slow capacity expansion of overseas copper-clad laminate manufacturers, shortages and price increases continue, and leading mainland copper-clad laminate manufacturers are expected to benefit actively.