[Reading Securities Report] 'Ssekeu' Profitable Despite Technology Special Case... Decreasing Major Shareholder Stake is a 'Burden'

A Company Specializing in Inspection and Analysis Equipment Development
Main Focus on X-ray Inspection Equipment... Applicable to Semiconductors and Batteries
Largest Shareholder's Stake at 15.73%, to Decrease to 13.50% After Listing

SSEK has submitted its securities registration statement and is officially proceeding with the KOSDAQ listing process. Although the company is listing through a technology special case, it has been recording profits since 2023. However, the fact that the largest shareholder's stake will decrease to 13% after listing is expected to be a concern.

According to the financial investment industry on the 18th, SSEK is a specialized inspection equipment company that develops inspection and analysis equipment. It was established in 2000. The company holds core original technologies for inspection equipment and key components based on electron beam generation device technology. Utilizing this, it manufactures and supplies X-ray inspection equipment for semiconductors and batteries. Additionally, based on its original technology, it independently produces linear accelerators (LINAC) and tabletop scanning electron microscopes (Tabletop SEM).

In particular, X-ray inspection equipment is highly utilized in prominent fields. Semiconductor X-ray inspection equipment can automatically inspect defects in TSV (Through-Silicon Via) and Micro-Bump of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) semiconductors using X-ray technology. It can also inspect TGV (Through-Glass Via) within glass substrates.

For battery X-ray inspection equipment, automatic inspection is possible for defects such as alignment issues and metal foreign substance intrusion, which can cause fires. It is said that it can automatically inspect defects not only in pouch-type and prismatic batteries but also in 46-pie cylindrical batteries.

SSEK is aiming to enter KOSDAQ as a technology growth company applying the technology growth special case. Unlike most companies listing through the technology special case that are in deficit, SSEK is profitable. On a consolidated basis, it recorded sales of 50.4 billion KRW and an operating profit of 240.19 million KRW in 2023. Compared to the previous year, sales increased by 22.49%, and operating profit turned positive. Last year's sales (preliminary settlement) were 53.8 billion KRW, and operating profit was 791 million KRW, increasing by 6.64% and 229.58%, respectively, compared to the previous year.

Since it is entering through the technology special case, the public offering price was determined based on future expected performance. The expected sales and operating profit for this year are 72.5 billion KRW and 5.5 billion KRW, respectively; for 2026, 104.4 billion KRW and 15.4 billion KRW; and for 2027, 109.8 billion KRW and 16.6 billion KRW.

The core of performance growth is X-ray inspection equipment for semiconductors and batteries. For semiconductors, X-ray inspection equipment related to HBM semiconductors is expected to be a growth driver in the future. It was also explained that battery manufacturers are continuously increasing purchase orders (PO) for their products on pouch-type battery production lines.

The lead manager, Shin Young Securities, used the price-earnings ratio (PER) to calculate the desired public offering price. The performance used was the estimated net income for 2026 of 12.0754 billion KRW. Comparable companies selected were TSE, JT, NSYS, Javis, Gigavis, and Nextin. Their average PER is 21.52 times. Based on this, the per-share valuation was 19,538 KRW, and applying a discount rate of 23.23% to 33.46%, the desired public offering price was set between 13,000 KRW and 15,000 KRW.

The company plans to raise 15.6 billion to 18 billion KRW by offering a total of 1.2 million shares this time. Based on the lower end of the offering price, 8.23 billion KRW will be invested in facility investment, and 1.912 billion KRW will be used for research and development (R&D). The remaining 5 billion KRW will be used to repay borrowings.

However, the fact that the largest shareholder's stake will decrease after listing is expected to be a concern. SSEK's largest shareholder is CEO Kim Jong-hyun, who holds a 15.73% stake. However, after listing, this will decrease to 13.50%. This is expected to cause difficulties if additional funding is raised in the future.