[Click eStock] "Unisem Records Highest Quarterly Earnings... Continues Strong in Q2~"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji-hwan Park] Hana Financial Investment on the 22nd gave a positive earnings outlook for Unisem, stating that its second-quarter sales are expected to surpass the first-quarter sales, which is unusual.

Unisem is a company that supplies scrubbers and chillers among semiconductor and display equipment. The sales proportion of semiconductor products is high.

Kyungmin Kim, a researcher at Hana Financial Investment, said, "After achieving sales of 77.6 billion KRW in the first quarter of this year, sales in the second quarter are expected to reach 80 billion KRW," adding, "It is noteworthy that second-quarter sales exceed first-quarter sales." This is because in 2018, 2019, and 2020, second-quarter sales were lower than first-quarter sales.

This strong performance was driven by non-memory investments in the upstream industry and the strengthening of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance). The reason second-quarter sales surpass first-quarter sales, overcoming traditional seasonality, is primarily due to active domestic non-memory semiconductor foundry investments in the upstream industry. The realization of foundry equipment sales, which were planned through the third quarter, was completed by the second quarter, and additional equipment orders are expected in the second half.

Additionally, it is due to the strengthening of ESG activities by some customers. Researcher Kyungmin Kim said, "The application scope of scrubbers has expanded to reduce emissions even in some processes where harmful gases were not previously emitted in large quantities." The ESG theme has had a dramatic impact on Unisem's stock price since the beginning of the year. Despite unexpectedly steady sales, maintenance sales, which have always been consistent, are also analyzed to be favorable this time.

Annual sales this year are expected to exceed 270 billion KRW. The market expectation for Unisem's sales this year is 257 billion KRW. Considering the strong sales in the second quarter, annual sales are projected to exceed 270 billion KRW, reaching 272.6 billion KRW. The impact of the off-season in the third quarter is also expected to be limited. Researcher Kim emphasized, "Unisem has been relatively undervalued compared to upstream equipment suppliers because it supplies scrubbers and chillers that help the smooth operation of semiconductor front-end equipment," adding, "Now, in terms of annual sales scale, it has established a position that is not absolutely inferior to upstream equipment suppliers."