Mr Cheung Kwok Wa, Chairman of the Company said: "We achieved both record revenue and net profit in 2007. Our excellent achievement was made possible by careful phase by phase planning of our organic expansion and meticulous execution by the dedicated management team. The general economic environment continued its positive momentum in 2007 in spite of modest inventory adjustment in the electronics supply chain in the first quarter and late 2007. The Group has been persistently focusing on capacity expansion and capability upgrading in the past few years so as to ride on the business opportunities as they arise. Being the largest global laminate producer backed by the reliable support of our successful vertically integrated business model with competitive cost structure, the Group has captured additional market share in the global laminate market and achieved higher than industry average growth year-on-year."
The new glass epoxy laminate plant in Jiangyin, Jiangsu province commenced production in April 2007 and reached monthly output of 600,000 sheets by end of 2007. The Group's glass epoxy laminate manufacturing facility in Fogang, Guangdong province also increased its output by 400,000 sheets per month in 2007. Subsequent to these expansion initiatives, total monthly glass epoxy laminate production capacity for the Group increased by 1 million sheets against the previous year. This was in line with the Group's strategy to reinforce the presence in PCB manufacturing hubs in both southern and eastern China so as to serve the customers with timely delivery of quality laminate products. In addition, production capacity of other upstream materials, such as copper foil, bleached kraft paper and epoxy resin was also increased during the year, in order to bolster the Group's level of vertical integration.
Demand for laminates at the start of 2008 experienced brief softness due to seasonal effect of Chinese Lunar New Year. The power shortage and logistic bottleneck caused by the snowstorm in eastern and southern China provinces had caused temporary disruption to certain production facilities located in the north of Guangdong province for about one week. The affected operations have since then resumed full production. In view of fast growing PCB demand in emerging markets including China, the Group will continue capacity expansion at the laminate plants in Fogang, Guangdong province and Jiangyin, Jiangsu province to bring total laminate monthly production capacity to 10.6 million sq. meters, up 10% by the end of 2008.
The Group's new glass yarn plant in Qingyuan, Guangdong province was slightly behind schedule as bad weather in the second half of 2007 had caused delay in the construction work. Nevertheless, trial production had commenced towards end January 2008 and monthly output will reach 2,500 tonnes once the plant is fully ramp up. Glass fabric and copper foil production capacity will also expand in the new financial year in order to secure a stable supply of critical upstream materials to support the Group's expansion blueprint. To capitalise on the broad customer base with diverse product requirements, the Group is continuously developing high end laminate products including thin and high performance laminates.
Mr. Cheung concluded: "With excellent growth track record, we are confident that the competitive advantages gained in the past will enable the Group to seize new opportunities and continue to invest for sustainable growth. Although the recent slow down in the US economy has posted a challenge to the entire manufacturing sector, we believe, in light of our financial strength and solid business fundamentals, the Group will continue to create shareholders value and, similar to other downturns in the past, make further advancement against our competitors."
Financial Highlights| Year ended Dec 31, | ||
| 2007 | 2006 | |
| HK$'million | HK$'million | |
| Turnover | 10,426.8 | 8,472.4 |
| Profit before tax | 2,054.8 | 1,887.3 |
| Net profit attributable to shareholders | 1,813.3 | 1,638.1 |
| Basic Earnings per share | HK60.4 cents | HK57.3 cents |
About Kingboard Laminates Holdings Limited
Kingboard Laminates Holdings Limited (HKEx: 1888) is a leading vertically-integrated electronics materials manufacturer, specializing in the production of laminates, a fundamental material ultimately used for the production of all kinds of electronic products. The Company is the global leader in rigid laminates, with a strategic network of 19 manufacturing facilities in the PRC. It was successfully listed on the main board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong in December 2006.