Focus Stock: Unimicron's first-half profit exceeds full-year 2023; stock surges 78% in 7 days, may face trading curbs

Copper Clad Laminate (CCL) manufacturer Unimicron has reported impressive financial results for the first half of the year, with its earnings exceeding the entire previous year's profit. This strong performance has fueled a significant surge in its stock price, which has climbed 78% over the past seven trading days, reaching a new record high since its listing. The company's second-quarter earnings per share were NT$3.52, bringing the first-half total to NT$4.39, surpassing last year's full-year figure of NT$4.16. Following these results, an analyst from an Asian firm raised Unimicron's target price substantially, from NT$333 to NT$600. Unimicron's stock reached its daily limit of NT$427.5 in early trading, with over 16,000 lots traded. The company's July revenue also hit a historical high of NT$4.75 billion, a 96.88% increase year-on-year. This growth is attributed to strong demand for AI servers, high-performance computing (HPC), and high-speed networking products, leading to a tight supply of high-end CCLs. Analysts anticipate further price increases for Unimicron's products in the second half of the year, coupled with expanded production capacity at its new Thai plant and increasing AI application demand, which are expected to drive continued growth in operations and profits. Due to the rapid price increase, the stock may face trading restrictions, potentially entering a two-minute split-trading session tomorrow.