IET-KY (英特磊) is earning more money again, and the only thing holding it back is a shortage of the wafers it needs — a supply problem, not a demand problem.

• First-half sales, profit margins and earnings all improved sharply, swinging the company from a loss a year ago to a profit.
• Demand for indium phosphide chips used in fast optical links inside AI data centers is still strong.
• A Japanese supplier shut down for a holiday week in May, so IET-KY could not get enough substrates and second-quarter sales and margins fell.
• The company is spreading orders across more suppliers, asking big customers to bring their own substrates, and reusing polished wafers to stretch supply.
• Its second Texas plant expansion finishes early next year, with state chip subsidies already being drawn and a federal deal targeted before year-end.

Outlook: Growth from here depends almost entirely on how fast substrate supply improves, with the company hoping for visible progress by the end of the year.