[Click e Stocks] "KNJ, Expected Increase in SiC Focus Ring Sales"

Hana Securities forecasted on the 6th that KNJ's performance will improve as domestic demand for SiC focus rings steadily increases.

Seongho Kim, a researcher at Hana Securities, stated, "KNJ is a semiconductor component specialist company that developed the SiC-CVD product for the first time among domestic aftermarket companies," and explained, "unlike before-market companies that supply semiconductor equipment companies, aftermarket companies have a structure of direct delivery to semiconductor manufacturers."

He added, "From the customer's perspective, purchasing products from the aftermarket is advantageous in terms of price," and "the adoption rate of aftermarket products by domestic memory semiconductor companies is expected to steadily increase."

He analyzed, "Due to the nature of the product, it is used in manufacturing processes of D-RAM or high-level NAND where fine processes are applied," and "the expansion of application to high-spec semiconductors is highly likely." Furthermore, "KNJ is currently supplying focus rings to all major domestic memory manufacturers," and emphasized, "as domestic customers are reducing costs and increasing the localization rate of components, the supply ratio of KNJ, the leading aftermarket focus ring company, is expected to rise."

Researcher Kim predicted, "The aftermarket product ratio of domestic customers is approximately 50% and 20%, respectively," and "the penetration rate of KNJ will increase due to the rise in plasma etching application in the miniaturization process of D-RAM."

KNJ is estimated to achieve sales of 76.3 billion KRW and an operating profit of 18.8 billion KRW this year, representing increases of 21.5% and 47.8%, respectively, compared to last year.