In the first six month of 2010, sapphire substrate supplier Crystal Applied Technology’s EPS was only NT$1.50 but the figure increased substantially to NT$11.75 at the end of November. The company noted the strong result benefitted from the increasing prices for sapphire crystals, as well as increased capacity in 2Q10.
The company pointed out, although 4Q10 was expected to be a slow season and the demand for LED sapphire substrate was expected to decline, the prices for sapphire substrate increased stably. It’s reported that sapphire substrate prices would increase again in March 2011 as demand picks up. Meanwhile, China would be the development focus of sapphire substrate suppliers in 2011, following the increase in its capacity of MOCVD sets.
The company planned to expand its capacity to 400,000 unit of substrates at the end of 2010 and to 600,000 unit of substrates in 2011.
