[Click eStock] "Deoksan Neolux, OLED-Based Growth Expected"

Hi Investment & Securities "Duksan Neolux Target Price Raised from 56,000 KRW to 80,000 KRW"
Positive Factors Including Apple New Product Launch in Second Half, Samsung Display QD-LED Line Operation

(Provided by Hi Investment & Securities)

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] As global demand for organic light-emitting diode (OLED) materials grows, Duksan Neolux is also expected to experience rapid growth. Hi Investment & Securities has raised the target price for Duksan Neolux from the previous 56,000 KRW to 80,000 KRW, maintaining a 'Buy' investment rating.

According to Hi Investment & Securities on the 21st, global OLED material demand is expected to show significant growth this year and next. Domestic OLED panel manufacturers are expanding OLED TV production, and smartphone companies have also started adopting OLED panels. Additionally, diversification in OLED panel applications is anticipated. The amount of materials used per OLED TV panel with a 3-tandem stacking structure, applied to improve brightness and lifespan, increases by approximately 300 times. Jung Won-seok, a researcher at Hi Investment & Securities, explained, "Assuming Samsung Display produces 1 million OLED TV panels annually next year, the material demand would be equivalent to about 300 million units for smartphone OLEDs."

Due to Chinese smartphone manufacturers, shipments of small and medium-sized OLED panels are also expected to increase. Recently, the supply disruption of display driver ICs (DDI), essential for display operation, has been the most severe. As a result, Chinese smartphone companies that had been using liquid crystal display (LCD) panels are rapidly expanding their adoption of OLED panels. Researcher Jung said, "Global shipments of small and medium-sized OLED panels will increase from 457 million units last year to 585 million units this year and 810 million units next year," adding, "Samsung Display plans to produce more than 10 types of OLED panels for laptops this year."

Consequently, Duksan Neolux's growth is expected to accelerate from the second half of the year. Despite the second quarter being the seasonally slowest period, sales are projected to rise 43% year-on-year to 40.4 billion KRW, and operating profit is expected to increase 51% to 11.7 billion KRW. Particularly, positive factors remain, including the effect of Apple's new iPhone launch from the second half, supply of new materials to major clients, the start of Samsung Display's quantum dot-light emitting diode (QD-LED) line operation, and the full-scale production of flexible OLED panels by Chinese panel manufacturers.