Union Tool Plans 32% PCB Drill Sales Increase for F2010

Union Tool, the world’s top supplier of printed circuit board drills (PCB drills), explained at a press conference on Thursday the firm plans annual PCB drill sales at 292 million units for a fiscal year ending in November 2010, increasing by 32% from the previous fiscal year. Every business sites tries to increase the sales volume for the second half year of June-November 2010 compared with the first half of December-May. Meanwhile, the sales would represent lower than the initial plan of 356 million units due to severe sales competition in South China and Taiwan.

Union Tool estimates global PCB drill market recovered to average 80 million units per month for six months through May 2010 from average 68 million units per month for a year of December 2008-November 2009. The demand recovery is driven by manufacturing demand for middle- and low-grade printed circuit boards in South China along regional production growth of home appliances. Consequently Union Tool couldn’t increase sales of its advantageous thin-diameter drills.

Mr. Takao Katayama, president of Union Tool commented the sales are not so strong at the beginning of a second half fiscal year as previously expected. The firm tries to regain market shares with new products, especially in China. The sales subsidiary in Shanghai plans the record high volume for a full fiscal year ending in November 2010.

Union Tool posted 9.6 billion yen of consolidated net sales with 1.5 billion yen of recurring profit for December 2009-May 2010 though the firm posted the red for the corresponding period of a year earlier.