On July 24, Ritek Group CEO Gordon Yeh said that although the company is not overly optimistic about the outlook for the CD-R disc market in the second half of this year, it is never pessimistic. Currently, the company’s CD-R production capacity utilization rate in the third quarter is higher than it was in the second quarter, and it expects its financial performance in July and August will be better than in May and June.

Despite the downturn in the global economy and the obscure outlook for the high-tech industry in the second half, prospects for the CD-R industry are relatively positive. Yeh pointed out that thanks to drops in the price of CD-RW burners and their increasing prevalence, demand for CD-R discs is continuing to grow. The outlook for the CD-R market in the second half is not grim at all.

Yeh further pointed out that usually CD-R shipment volume in December is 1.5 to two times higher than in June. Moreover, given the traditional sales boom in the second half and the predicted upcoming growth in the European market in August, Ritek’s CD-R shipment performance is expected to be better in the second half than in the first half. In addition to the CD-R market, the market for DVD-R discs is also showing signs of growth.

With some CD-R manufacturers planning to raise prices in the second half, Yeh said that Ritek is continuing to develop and roll out new high-performance discs, such as 24x and 32x high-end products, and it is natural that prices will vary according to brand and demand. In the future, the ex-factory price of high-end CD-Rs will be over US$0.3 each at least.

Ritek took control of the management at Gigastorage and Lead Data in May and June of this year. Yeh noted that the two companies both had a capacity utilization rate around 50% in May and June and probably saw losses in the first half. However, after their strategic alliances with Ritek, their company structures have improved. Gigastorage and Lead Data’s capacity utilization rates have rebounded in July, and their second-half sales performances are expected to be better than the first half.