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(Central News Agency reporter Chung Jung-feng, Taipei, 10th) Cho Wen-heng, chairman of transmission component maker HIWIN, said today that lead times for ball screws and linear guides currently extend to mid-2027. He expects fourth-quarter operations to grow compared with the third quarter, and full-year 2027 revenue to grow by a double-digit percentage, with orders continuing to be brisk and the robotics business set to keep growing next year. He disclosed that the HIWIN group has secured small-batch orders from a major US humanoid robot manufacturer.
Looking at the pace of demand in the AI industry, Cho noted that he has not yet sensed any change in the US market's attitude toward AI applications, and that the long-term development of the AI industry is promising — HIWIN is confident about future orders.
HIWIN held an investor conference this afternoon. Reviewing the major global markets, Cho said the trend of manufacturing reshoring in the US is driving growth in demand for transmission components; the European market is holding at last year's level; the Japanese machine tool market is expected to recover next year, and Japan's machine tool orders for AI data centre (AIDC) manufacturing equipment have been solid this year.
On lead times for major products, Cho said ground ball screws have stretched to more than 6.5 months and linear guides to about 4–6 months, with overall product lead times extended into the middle of next year.
Cho noted that HIWIN's capacity currently cannot keep up with incoming orders, and its plants continue to work overtime to clear the backlog. The company continues to benefit from demand for transmission components from semiconductor and AI data centre equipment makers.
On robotics and key components, Cho said the HIWIN group supplies industrial robots, wafer robots, transfer systems and single-axis robots, and continues to build out key humanoid robot components including motors, reducers, crossed roller bearings, planetary roller screws and direct drive motors. Semiconductor applications continue to drive demand for HIWIN's robot products.
On humanoid robots, Cho disclosed that the HIWIN group has received small-batch orders for linear guides from a major US manufacturer, and the group continues to promote its humanoid robot key components in the US, Japan and mainland China.
On AI-specific robotics applications, Cho said a US logistics robot company has revised its specifications and HIWIN's related samples are being prepared for shipment, with the company hoping to secure small-batch orders by the end of this year.
Looking at capital expenditure for next year, Cho said HIWIN's capex was about NT$2.75 billion last year, and this year's figure may be somewhat lower. Capex this year and next will mainly go toward equipment replacement.
HIWIN reported its third-quarter financial results: consolidated revenue of NT$8.11 billion, up 8% quarter on quarter and 35% year on year — the third-highest quarterly figure in its history and the second-highest for the same period — driven mainly by demand from semiconductors, automation and infrastructure. Ball screws accounted for 20% of revenue, linear guides 61%, robots 12% and others 7%.
Third-quarter consolidated gross margin was 36.34%, the highest since the fourth quarter of 2022. Operating profit was NT$1.446 billion, with an operating margin of 17.83% — also the highest since Q4 2022. Profit attributable to owners of the parent was NT$1.23 billion, up 45% quarter on quarter and 176% year on year, the highest in 16 quarters. Earnings per share for the quarter were NT$3.48.
For the first three quarters, HIWIN's consolidated revenue was NT$21.997 billion, up 23.86% year on year. Gross margin was 34.32%, up 4.9 percentage points, and operating margin 14.14%, up 6.6 percentage points. After-tax profit for the nine months was NT$2.657 billion, a 1.5-fold increase from NT$1.063 billion a year earlier. Earnings per share for the nine months were NT$7.51. (Editor: Yang Kai-hsiang) 1151110
