[Company Visit] NineTech "The First Year to Secure Sales and Profitability"

Secondary Battery, Display, and Semiconductor Equipment Manufacturer
Targets 210 Billion KRW in Sales This Year... Aims for 400 Billion KRW by 2026
Expecting Results in Semiconductor and Display as Well as Secondary Battery
Continued Growth Through Business Portfolio Expansion

"We expect this year to be a year of further growth and securing profitability."

NineTech headquarters located in Jinwi-myeon, Pyeongtaek-si, Gyeonggi-do. Photo by Hyunseok Yoo

Odongrok, Executive Director of NineTech, expressed confidence in this year's growth at a corporate presentation (IR) held on the 11th of this month at the headquarters in Jinwi-myeon, Pyeongtaek-si, Gyeonggi-do, hosted by the KOSDAQ Association.

NineTech was established in 2006. It started as a display equipment company and expanded its business to secondary battery assembly process equipment. Beginning with small battery equipment in 2017, it delivered medium-to-large battery equipment for automotive applications to LG Energy Solution’s Poland plant in 2019. In 2020, it merged with SPEC and was listed on KOSDAQ. In the first quarter of this year, it recorded sales of 44.7 billion KRW and operating profit of 1.4 billion KRW, representing increases of 36.39% and 165.48%, respectively, compared to the same period last year.

Executive Director Oh cited sales growth and profitability improvement as the most significant changes for NineTech this year. Last year, NineTech recorded consolidated sales of 123 billion KRW and an operating loss of 3.1 billion KRW. This year, sales are expected to reach 210 billion KRW, with operating profit turning positive. He explained, "Sales will grow as major clients begin full-scale expansion of their overseas factories. Last year, additional costs related to secondary batteries negatively affected profitability, but since such costs will not recur this year, we expect to achieve an operating profit margin of up to 5%."

Odongrok, Executive Director of Ninetech, is giving a presentation at the corporate briefing (IR) hosted by the KOSDAQ Association at the headquarters located in Jinwi-myeon, Pyeongtaek-si, Gyeonggi-do. Photo by Hyunseok Yoo

The main driver of growth this year is secondary battery equipment. NineTech produces roll-to-roll lamination and stacking equipment. Lamination and stacking equipment are used to create cells by layering battery materials such as cathode, anode, electrolyte, and separator like steps. Among these, lamination equipment is the core product. He said, "Our lamination equipment has the advantage of high yield and productivity," adding, "Since LG Energy Solution is making significant investments, we expect growth through next year."

In addition to secondary batteries, he expects results in the display and semiconductor sectors. In the display sector, investments in organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology in China are expected to benefit NineTech. NineTech manufactures logistics transfer equipment used in organic material deposition and encapsulation processes in display manufacturing. He emphasized, "Investment slowed last year, but this year Chinese display companies are announcing investment plans," and added, "We expect to secure orders in the second half of the year."

Exterior view of the NineTech headquarters located in Jinwi-myeon, Pyeongtaek-si, Gyeonggi-do. Photo by Hyunseok Yoo

He also expects to announce orders in semiconductor back-end process equipment. He said, "We signed our first contract with Silicon Box in Singapore in 2022, and we expect to receive purchase orders (PO) in the third quarter," and explained, "For the U.S. company A, to which we delivered last year, a second line investment is expected to be announced by the end of the year, so benefits are anticipated."

NineTech plans not to be satisfied with its current business but to continuously expand into new businesses to secure future growth engines. Currently, NineTech is preparing for thermoelectric cooling and power generation, dry electrode process equipment, and used battery recycling businesses. Among these, the battery recycling business is expected to yield results the fastest.

He emphasized, "Our battery recycling equipment uses a method of freezing and then crushing, which reduces explosion risk and saves time and money," adding, "We expect to receive orders from the U.S. this year."

Finally, Executive Director Oh plans to sustain growth through the performance of new and existing businesses. He said, "We will expand our business portfolio starting with secondary battery equipment to establish a stable business model," and added, "We aim to achieve sales of 400 billion KRW by 2026."