[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] Eugene Investment & Securities forecasted on the 19th that Hanmi Semiconductor will take a brief breather this year but its performance will improve again starting next year.
It is estimated to achieve sales of 397.8 billion KRW and operating profit of 134.7 billion KRW this year, representing increases of 7% and 2% respectively compared to last year.
Researcher Seungwoo Lee of Eugene Investment & Securities said, "After rapid growth over the past two years, it will be a period of catching breath," and added, "Double-digit growth will be possible again from next year."
He continued, "Generally, the corporate value of back-end process equipment companies is lower compared to front-end process equipment," but emphasized, "Hanmi Semiconductor is actually receiving a premium as it is rapidly expanding its customers and applications based on the globally popular product called Vision Placement."
He analyzed, "In the second quarter of this year, sales of 105.5 billion KRW and operating profit of 36 billion KRW are expected as the delays from the first quarter are reflected," and "this year's annual performance is a variable due to the progress of investments in some key front-end process equipment."
The researcher advised, "Even if the planned front-end investments are made by a certain point at the end of the year, it will affect the installation of back-end processes," and added, "Therefore, this year's performance needs to be estimated somewhat conservatively."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
