[Special Stock] Yesty Faces 3-Year AI Semiconductor Shortage... Record High HBM Equipment Orders Increase

Yesty is showing strong performance. The news that it has secured part of the second batch of 'HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) manufacturing pressurizing equipment' worth 12.3 billion KRW from global semiconductor companies appears to have influenced its stock price. This amount is double the initial batch from last month and represents the largest scale ever for semiconductor equipment.

As of 2:21 PM on the 27th, Yesty is trading at 16,870 KRW, up 14.22% from the previous trading day.

A Yesty representative stated, "The remaining second batch orders are expected soon," adding, "Yesty has already secured the largest-ever order volume for HBM-related equipment through the first half of next year." They further noted, "Large-scale orders will continue in the second half of next year depending on the progress of our clients' HBM investments."

The global HBM market is expected to grow further due to the AI boom, the spread and advancement of autonomous vehicles. Last month, Citigroup announced in a market report that despite increased investments by global semiconductor companies, the supply shortage of HBM, a core component of AI semiconductors, will persist for the next three years. Leading companies such as Nvidia, the world's largest graphics processing unit (GPU) manufacturer, and global fabless semiconductor design company AMD have recently significantly increased their HBM orders.

Domestic semiconductor companies are strengthening investments in preparation for the surge in HBM demand. Samsung Electronics plans to complete HBM expansion investments by the third quarter of next year and aims for mass production. SK Hynix is also budgeting investments to expand HBM production capacity. The demand for semiconductor equipment for HBM is likely to continue steadily due to the expansion of investments by semiconductor companies.

The equipment supplied by Yesty is wafer pressurizing equipment applied in the 'underfill' stage, one of the core processes of HBM. Underfill is a process to prevent warpage of HBM, which stacks multiple DRAMs. It uses insulating materials to cure uniformly, maintaining balance between chips and removing impurities. It is a key process for optimizing HBM performance.

A Yesty representative explained, "We are smoothly producing the first batch ordered last month," and "deliveries are scheduled to begin from the end of this year according to the customer's investment plans." They added, "We have completed all internal mass production preparations, including material procurement and cleanroom expansion, in anticipation of the second batch and expected large-scale future orders."

Furthermore, the representative emphasized, "As global semiconductor companies fiercely compete to develop next-generation HBM, Yesty is also focusing its capabilities on developing high-performance HBM equipment," and "In addition to wafer pressurizing equipment, we are closely collaborating with customers to diversify our supply items, including ‘HBM chillers’ and ‘package pressurizing equipment.’"

On the 14th, Yesty secured an order worth 4.9 billion KRW for a new type of HBM equipment called the ‘EDS chiller’ from a global semiconductor company. With the full-scale start of customers' HBM investments, Yesty is expected to achieve significant performance growth next year by increasing order volumes and diversifying order items for HBM equipment.

According to global market research firm QYResearch, the global HBM market size recorded 767 million USD (approximately 1 trillion KRW) last year. The firm forecasts an annual growth rate of 25.47% until 2029, reaching 4.93 billion USD (approximately 6.4 trillion KRW).

Regarding the patent dispute over high-pressure annealing equipment raised by a competitor, Yesty recently filed a nullity trial against the competitor's patent. Yesty plans to promptly resolve the patent dispute through active responses.