$KB LAMINATES (01888.HK)$ The stock price has surged again, currently rising over 7%, reaching a new all-time high with a trading volume exceeding 400 million Hong Kong dollars; the cumulative increase within the month has exceeded 50%.
In terms of developments, reports indicate that three major suppliers of high-end copper-clad laminate (CCL), including Taiwan Guangdian, TUC, and iTEQ, have recently communicated with customers regarding price increases. Among them, TUC has officially notified customers of an increase in CCL prices starting from April 25, with some product lines seeing hikes of 20% to 40%. Taiwan Guangdien and iTEQ announced that they will initiate a new round of price adjustments for high-end materials starting from the second quarter, with both setting the increase at 10%, targeting high-end applications such as AI servers and switches.
CITIC Securities released a research report stating that since April, numerous leading copper-clad laminate companies have issued price increase notices. The visibility of steadily improving profitability for copper-clad laminates continues to rise. The firm expects that the profitability of copper-clad laminates will likely remain stable in Q1 2026 and begin to improve in Q2 2026. From an industry logic perspective, under favorable cyclical conditions, the rationale for significant price increases in traditional copper-clad laminates is clear, and margin expansion is expected to gradually manifest in H1 2026. Copper-clad laminates represent a sector benefiting from both price hikes and AI-driven volume growth, with the potential for price increases and their duration from Q2 2026 into the second half of the year showing room for upside surprises.
Editor/Jayden