Inari's Radio Frequency Future Uncertain, Prompts Remain Cautious
Inari's Radio Frequency Future Uncertain, Prompts Remain Cautious
These include the relatively low procurement costs of RF components such as Broadcom's FBAR filters, which account for less than 2% of the cost of an iPhone, and the risk of intellectual property infringement lawsuits. Moreover, Apple renewed a multi-year supply agreement with Broadcom in May 2023, securing its RF components supply for production in the US.
Maybank Investment Bank Bhd (Maybank IB) has maintained its HOLD recommendation for Inari Amertron Bhd after assessing the risk surrounding its radio frequency (RF) business. The research house said Inari risks losing its core RF business due to its major customer, Broadcom, possibly in-housing production of its cellular and connectivity chipsets in the future.
馬來亞銀行投資銀行有限公司（馬來亞銀行IB）在評估其射頻（RF）業務的相關風險後，維持對Inari Amertron Bhd的持有評級。研究機構表示，Inari可能因其主要客戶博通今後可能內部生產其蜂窩和連接芯片而面臨失去其核心RF業務的風險。
Despite identifying the risk as relatively contained at this stage, Maybank IB pointed out that Inari's short-term outlook remains challenging due to margin pressures, lower volume loads, new product introduction (NPI) ramp-up and rising labour costs.
儘管在這一階段將風險識別爲相對可控，馬來亞銀行IB指出，Inari的短期前景仍面臨挑戰，因爲存在利潤壓力、較低的成交量、新產品推出（NPI）加速以及上升的勞動力成本。
The house highlighted recent developments, including a Bloomberg report from Dec 4, 2024, indicating that Apple Inc plans to begin using in-house modems for its low-cost smartphones in 2025. While this shift is seen as a potential threat to Inari's RF business, as Broadcom is a key supplier for Apple's RF components, Maybank IB analysts believe that Apple's move to in-house RF components is unlikely due to several factors.
該機構強調了最近的進展，包括2024年12月4日的彭博社報告指出，蘋果公司計劃在2025年開始爲其低成本智能手機使用內部調制解調器。雖然這一轉變被視爲對Inari RF業務的潛在威脅，因爲博通是蘋果射頻器件的關鍵供應商，但馬來亞銀行IB的分析師認爲，蘋果轉向內部射頻器件的可能性不大，原因有多個。
These include the relatively low procurement costs of RF components such as Broadcom's FBAR filters, which account for less than 2% of the cost of an iPhone, and the risk of intellectual property infringement lawsuits. Moreover, Apple renewed a multi-year supply agreement with Broadcom in May 2023, securing its RF components supply for production in the US.
這些原因包括射頻器件（如博通的FBAR濾波器）相對較低的採購成本，這些成本佔iPhone成本的不到2%，以及知識產權侵權訴訟的風險。此外，蘋果在2023年5月與博通續簽了多年供應協議，爲其在美國的生產確保了射頻器件的供應。
Maybank IB also noted that, while Apple's shift to in-house modems might seem logical given the cost of cellular modems in smartphones, the company is unlikely to replicate this move for RF chipsets. The research house argued that it does not make economic sense for Apple to take on the risks associated with in-housing RF production, especially given the stability of its current supply chain and Broadcom's market dominance in RF/wireless technology. As a result, the analyst anticipates that Inari's RF segment sales will remain resilient in the medium term, supported by higher content growth despite a slowdown in demand from China's iPhone market.
馬來亞銀行IB還指出，雖然考慮到智能手機中蜂窩調制解調器的成本，蘋果轉向內部調制解調器似乎合乎邏輯，但該公司不太可能在射頻芯片上覆制這一轉變。研究機構認爲，蘋果接手內部生產RF的風險不具經濟意義，尤其考慮到其當前供應鏈的穩定性和博通在射頻/無線科技中的市場主導地位。因此，分析師預計，Inari的RF部門銷售在中期內將保持韌性，儘管中國iPhone市場的需求減緩，但其內容增長會提供支持。
Inari's stock remains under Maybank's HOLD recommendation with a 12-month target price of RM2.93, offering just a 1% upside from its current price of RM2.97.
Inari的股票仍然維持在馬銀行的持有推薦，12個月的目標價爲RM2.93，比當前價格RM2.97僅提供1%的上漲空間。
