News: LEDs
6 May 2021
Seoul Semiconductor’s Q1 net income quadruples year-on-year
For first-quarter 2021, South Korea-based LED maker Seoul Semiconductor Co Ltd has reported consolidated revenue of KRW310.4bn (its third consecutive quarter over KRW300bn), up 27.6% year-on-year.
As a beneficiary of the growing non-contact economy in the pandemic era, strong growth in the IT division led to outstanding performance in Q1. The automotive and lighting divisions also recorded stable growth.
Also, the manufacturing site transition to Vietnam (begun in 2017) has stabilized and contributed to improved profitability.
Operating income is up 243% year-on-year to KRW20.5bn (operating margin of 6.6%). Net income has more than quadrupled year-on-year to KRW24.5bn, which is equivalent to 85% of its full-year net income in 2020.
Seoul hence recorded historically high first-quarter revenue and net profit.
In April, Seoul noted that its LED package business ranked third globally in 2020, surpassing US-based LED maker Lumileds, according to market research firm Omdia. Seoul expects to continue double-digit growth in 2021.
Graphic: Market shares for packaged LEDs, according to Omdia.
For second-quarter 2021, Seoul Semiconductor forecasts revenue growth of 19-29% year-on-year to KRW320-340bn, indicating strong expectations for the full year.
“We have higher expectations for the second half as mass production of mini-LEDs will lead to better results,” says Seoul. “We have been investing to capture new growth opportunities.” Seoul’s mini-LED products use package-less WICOP (wafer-level integrated chip on PCB) technology (claimed to be the first technology directly mounting LED chips onto a substrate).
