Pemtron's Corporate Value Soars on Expectations for New Inspection Equipment Supply

Supply Contract for Semiconductor Inspection Equipment with SK hynix on September 5
"Highly Significant in Terms of Technology Validation"
Micro-Defect Inspection Equipment Supply Also Becoming Tangible

The share price of Pemtron, a developer of inspection equipment, has surged significantly this month. As expectations for an improvement in the semiconductor industry gain traction, anticipation surrounding the supply of new equipment is driving the stock price higher.

According to the financial investment industry on September 22, Pemtron’s stock price, which hovered around 11,000 won at the end of last month, surpassed 18,000 won this month. On the 19th, it closed at 18,650 won, marking a 69.1% increase. Foreign investors and institutional investors made net purchases of 10.6 billion won and 2.8 billion won, respectively, just this month.

Pemtron develops inspection equipment for a wide range of fields, including secondary batteries and semiconductors, based on its proprietary 3D precision measurement and vision technologies. In the first half of this year, the company recorded cumulative sales of 27.8 billion won and an operating loss of 2.8 billion won. Compared to the same period last year, sales increased by 9.5%, and the scale of operating losses also decreased.

The Yeouido securities industry projects that Pemtron will turn to an operating profit this year, with profits expected to grow rapidly starting next year. It is anticipated that performance will improve as the company begins supplying new equipment to clients.

Recently, Pemtron completed client quality testing for its 8800WI-HBM equipment, which enables precise inspection from the lower to upper layers in both the pre- and post-stages of high bandwidth memory (HBM) stacking processes. Cho Sooheon, a researcher at Korea Investment & Securities, explained, "On September 5, Pemtron announced an order for its '8800WI-HBM' inspection equipment for SK hynix," adding, "This is highly significant in terms of technology validation." He continued, "Previously, defects were checked only after stacking was completed, but the new equipment is the world’s first to enable inspection during the stacking process. As the stacking complexity increases in the HBM4 process, the need for this new equipment will grow."

Pemtron has also developed the 'MARS' inspection equipment, which can precisely detect micro-defects within solid state drives (SSD) and memory modules. The company is working on initial supply to a major North American integrated device manufacturer (IDM). Currently, client testing is underway, and Pemtron expects to pass final validation and secure orders within the year. Researcher Cho noted, "Discussions are also ongoing with global IDMs such as Samsung Electronics and Micron Technology in the United States," adding, "The company also anticipates the benefits of diversifying its client base."

Kwon Taewoo, a researcher at Hana Securities, stated, "The MARS equipment offers high inspection precision and can flexibly adapt to changes in module structure," and introduced, "It has scalability for application in various clients’ processes over the long term." He estimated, "This year, Pemtron will achieve sales of 70.7 billion won and an operating profit of 3.5 billion won," projecting, "Compared to last year, sales will increase by 24.1%, and operating profit will turn positive."

Profits are expected to increase in earnest starting next year, when the effects of the new equipment are fully reflected. Korea Investment & Securities forecasts that Pemtron will achieve sales of 154.7 billion won and an operating profit of 31.5 billion won next year.