Clear Achievements in IT and Manufacturing
DB HiTek Anticipates First Ever Annual Sales of 1 Trillion Won
New Large Corporation Designations Expected This Year
Namho Kim, Chairman of DB Group (center), visited the DB Inc. data center in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, last July to tour the facility and encourage employees. [Photo by DB Group]
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] "We will make every effort to further strengthen the competitiveness of our existing businesses and create growth foundations for the future so that DB can become a continuously growing company."
Namho Kim, Chairman of DB Group (46), took his first step as the head of the group on July 1 last year amid concerns about an uncertain future during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Exactly one year later, he is being praised for successfully turning anxiety into expectation by realizing the plans he announced in his inaugural speech one by one.
According to industry sources on the 1st, DB Group has laid the groundwork for a group resurgence by achieving remarkable results in the IT and manufacturing sectors during the year since Chairman Kim's inauguration. A representative business unit is DB HiTek, a semiconductor foundry specializing in contract manufacturing, which had long been considered a perennial "pain point."
Financial investment circles expect DB HiTek to exceed 1 trillion won in sales for the first time since its founding this year. DB HiTek, which mainly produces 8-inch (200mm) wafers, recorded sales of 243.7 billion won in the first quarter of this year amid soaring demand for analog semiconductors and a global shortage. This figure represents an 8% increase compared to the same period last year and is the highest quarterly performance ever.
Operating profit also improved significantly, reaching 239.3 billion won last year with a profit margin of 26%. In his New Year's address this year, Chairman Kim praised the company, saying, "DB HiTek has achieved outstanding management performance, with an operating profit margin ranking among the top KOSPI-listed companies."
This year, DB Group was newly designated as a large business group (conglomerate) by the Fair Trade Commission, recording fair assets of 10.366 trillion won. This is six years after being downgraded to a quasi-large business group in 2015. This designation is the result of DB Insurance, which accounts for the largest sales share within the group, surpassing 20 trillion won in annual sales last year, and stable performance in non-financial affiliates such as semiconductors.
Chairman Kim expressed his intention to restructure the business, stating, "Since we possess core capabilities in IT and semiconductor businesses, which are key to the Fourth Industrial Revolution and digitalization, we must turn this into a great opportunity to create various synergies among the group's main financial companies, between finance and IT, and between IT and semiconductors."
Additionally, it is said that he pays special attention to his inaugural pledge to "listen, communicate, and build a company where the company and its employees grow together." A DB official said, "As a young head of the group, he often visits nearby restaurants and cafes without formality, casually conversing and greeting employees in a comfortable atmosphere."
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