[Click eStock] "Unisem Benefits from Samsung Electronics' Semiconductor Investment Expansion"

Kiwoom Securities analyzed on the 30th that Unisem will benefit from the expansion of Samsung Electronics' semiconductor investment.

Park Yu-ak, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, stated in a report on the same day, “Samsung Electronics will execute a total investment amount of 33 trillion to 35 trillion KRW this year, an increase of 10-17% compared to the previous year,” and “As a result, the market share of memory semiconductors is expected to expand.”

Researcher Park Yu-ak predicted, “With the full-scale operation of Samsung Electronics’ Pyeongtaek 3 line starting in the second quarter of this year, additional investment in front-end equipment is expected,” adding, “DRAM orders for front-end equipment are expected to resume from the second quarter at a monthly scale of 30K to 50K, and NAND orders from the third quarter at a monthly scale of 20K to 30K.”

Additionally, Samsung plans to invest a total of 320 trillion KRW in Yongin, Gyeonggi-do by 2042 to establish a system semiconductor complex. It is estimated that a total of 150 trillion KRW will be invested solely in semiconductor production processes (including materials, parts, and equipment) according to the plan to build five foundry factories. Since Unisem counts Samsung Electronics’ memory and foundry divisions as customers, it is analyzed that Unisem will receive mid- to long-term benefits from this investment.

He stated, “Unisem’s performance this year is expected to record sales of 245 billion KRW, a 3% decrease from the previous year, and operating profit of 37.3 billion KRW, a 29% increase,” and forecasted, “The expansion of overseas non-memory sales and the effect of new OLED orders will offset the impact of reduced investments by SK Hynix, Kioxia, and Micron.”

Performance growth is also expected to continue in 2024. He said, “In 2024, sales are expected to grow 20% year-on-year to 295.1 billion KRW, and operating profit to 44.8 billion KRW,” adding, “Despite the recent sharp rise in stock price, Unisem’s stock price is only at a price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of 8.8 times and a price-to-book ratio (P/B) of 1.2 times this year, so the stock valuation attractiveness is still considered sufficient.”