Leoben, 3 July 2019 – AT&S has just achieved two significant milestones: On the one hand, the company is the globally leading supplier of high-end printed circuit boards (HDI, High Density Interconnect) according to the figures of the industry expert Prismark for 2018.
On the other hand, AT&S is celebrating its successful initial public offering (IPO) 20 years ago and its equally positive development over two decades.
Ever more complex, high-density and powerful systems with the corresponding electronic circuits require printed circuit boards designed to meet these needs. These requirements are addressed with high-end products such as the HDI technology. Such technologies offer advantages including higher circuit density, better characteristics for electrical behaviour and signal transmission, short signal paths and good electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and interference immunity, making the high-quality products more powerful, more reliable, lighter and more compact. Typical applications include smartphones, tablets, wearables, automotive and storage products, industrial electronics, but also future 5G applications.
However, these high-end technologies place increased demands on design and manufacturing. This is where AT&S contributes its extensive know-how, combined with its high research and development performance and an early strategic focus on high-quality and highly advanced products. The market researchers of Prismark see AT&S as the number one for the HDI market segment in 2018 with a share of more than 830 million US dollars. HDI products account for roughly 15 percent of the entire global printed circuit board market.
20 years on the stock exchange
The leading position of AT&S for HDI printed circuit boards underpins the strategic orientation focusing on high-end products. AT&S offers a wide range of advanced solutions for customers in the mobile devices, automotive electronics, medical technology, industrial electronics and semiconductor industries. Against this background, AT&S not only carried out a successful IPO, but recorded an equally successful company development with a continuous dividend policy for its shareholders. Since the IPO, revenue increased from € 151 million (end of 1998/99) to more than € 1 billion, and the headcount rose from roughly 1,900 (end of 1998/99) to 9,800.
The initial public offering of AT&S took place in the Neuer Markt segment in Frankfurt in July 1999, thus celebrating its 20-year anniversary. In spring 2008 the decision was made to transfer to the Vienna Stock Exchange. At the same time, the termination of the listing and the revocation of the admission of AT&S shares to the Regulated Market at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange were initiated. On the Vienna Stock Exchange the share has been a member of the ATX index since March 2018.
AT&S will continue to develop and offer powerful solutions for the growing demands in dynamic markets such as e-mobility, automated/autonomous driving, 5G mobile communication, modern medical technology and the semiconductor industry in the future. At the same time, the company is undergoing a transformation to become a provider of comprehensive interconnect solutions with products and technologies that go far beyond pure printed circuit boards. This is considered a great opportunity to evolve fundamentally on different levels in order to reach a significantly larger market with high global growth rates. Customers can be served on an even broader basis with higher value creation potential while new areas of application can be opened up. To this end, AT&S uses its existing expertise and technologies, expanding them with appropriate investments.
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