Catcher Technology optimistic about its components sector

• By Meryl Kao / Staff reporter

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Metal casing supplier Catcher Technology Co (可成科技) yesterday said it is optimistic about its precision components business, with products for artificial intelligence (AI) servers, medical technology, semiconductor automation, aerospace and drones entering volume shipments.

However, the company has faced order cuts for products used in notebook computers over the past two years, making operating conditions challenging, Catcher chairman Allen Hung (洪水樹) told an earnings conference.

Catcher supplies mechanical and external parts for servers, as well as power supply products and switches.

Catcher Technology Co chairman Allen Hung poses for a photograph in Taipei in an undated photograph.

Photo: Chang Hui-wen, Taipei Times

AI-related products accounted for a double-digit percentage of Catcher’s total revenue in the third quarter and are on track to reach about 20 percent for the full year, Hung said.

As more products for AI servers enter mass production, the segment’s revenue contribution is expected to increase further this quarter and in the first quarter next year, Catcher said.

The company has invested US$50 million in Thailand over the past two years, focusing mainly on AI server-related products, it said.

AI PC-related projects are also scheduled to enter mass production in the second quarter of next year, it said.

Overall, the revenue share of AI-related products could surpass that of the notebook business next year, it said.

This year, precision components for medical equipment, aviation engines and uncrewed vehicles, and AI-related products are each expected to account for about 20 percent of Catcher’s total revenue, with the remainder coming from notebook business, the company said.

Catcher remains cautious about its notebook business through next year due to component shortages and rising prices, with revenue from the segment already down by a double-digit percentage in the first three quarters of this year, Hung said.

The company yesterday reported that third-quarter revenue rose 15.2 percent quarter-on-quarter, but fell 36.5 percent year-on-year to NT$3.09 billion (US$94.3 million).

Net profit fell 4.3 percent quarter-on-quarter and 55 percent year-on-year to NT$1.3 billion.

Earnings per share fell to NT$2.45 from NT$2.51 in the previous quarter and NT$4.62 a year earlier.

Gross margin fell to 22 percent last quarter from 28.86 percent in the second quarter and 28.6 percent a year earlier, mainly as repeated cuts in notebook orders forced the company to focus on inventory reduction, Hung said.

Catcher aims to restore its gross margin to about 30 percent in the long term, supported by an expected expansion in semiconductor automation equipment components next year and new uncrewed vehicle projects with US customers, he said.