Optical disc maker CMC Magnetics is optimistic about business in 2021, judging from growing demand for archival optical discs with high storage capacities and its subsidiary Verbatim launching gaming accessories and smart home security products in Europe in 2021, according to company chairman Robert Wong.

CMC has begun shipping 100GB and 200GB archival optical discs, with 100GB models taking up 10% of consolidated revenues, Wong said. While demand for archival optical discs mainly comes from the government sector at present, there will be large demand from data centers for providing cloud computing services, Wong noted.

CMC acquires storage solution provider Verbatim from Japan-based Mitsubishi Chemical Media at the end of 2019, boosting its consolidated revenues by 33.44% in 2020. With operational bases and retail channels around North and Latin Americas, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Verbatim sells optical discs, HDDs, flash storage devices, accessories of consumer electronics and LED lighting products.

While global demand for blank optical discs other than archival ones has been weak for a few years, CMC saw Blu-ray Disc (BD) shipments significantly increase in 2020 amid the pandemic, Wong indicated.

Currently, CMC has a global market share of about 60% for all types of blank optical discs and the share is on the rise, Wong said.

To reflect hikes in material costs, CMC will raise quotes by about 10% in second-quarter 2021, Wong noted.

By DIGITIMES