[Click eStock] "HB Tech to Achieve Full-Scale Growth from Next Year with Glass Substrate Supply"

Shinhan Investment Corp. analyzed on the 5th that HB Technology is expected to experience significant growth starting next year, beginning with the first supply of glass substrates this year. No investment opinion or target price was provided.

HB Technology produces inspection and repair equipment for the display, secondary battery, and semiconductor sectors. Namgung Hyun, a researcher at Shinhan Investment Corp., stated, "It is judged to hold a dominant position within organic light-emitting diode (OLED) inspection equipment manufacturing," adding, "The company has successfully diversified new applications twice based on its existing inspection capabilities."

He explained, "Since 2019, the company has started supplying equipment for secondary batteries and has seen continuous performance growth every year since the initial revenue recognition," and "It is expected that the supply of products for secondary batteries will expand significantly in 2024."

Additionally, results are anticipated in the glass substrate sector. He emphasized, "Among semiconductor companies, Intel and AMD are actively adopting glass substrates, and major substrate companies such as Samsung Electro-Mechanics, SK Abslix, and LG Innotek are also expanding their glass substrate divisions," adding, "Three units of glass substrate inspection and repair equipment for pilot mass production were already delivered in 2024, and depending on the customer's production capacity (Capa) expansion in 2025, sales for glass substrates could increase up to tenfold."

Shinhan Investment Corp. expects HB Technology to record sales and operating profit of KRW 196.6 billion and KRW 15.2 billion, respectively, this year. Sales are projected to increase by 76.1% compared to the previous year, with operating profit turning positive. He emphasized, "Due to the high process difficulty of glass substrates, the importance of inspection and repair equipment is high, so the contribution to operating profit is inevitably greater than existing applications," and "Profitability improvement is also expected due to structural improvements from the increased sales proportion in the semiconductor sector and increased sales of high-profit products."