Hanmi Semiconductor and Hanwha Semitech, competitors in the thermal compression bonder (TC bonder) market—essential equipment for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) production—posted sharply divergent results for the first half of this year. Both companies experienced a temporary order vacuum as SK Hynix transitioned its procurement from HBM3E (5th generation) to HBM4 (6th generation), but the results reveal a clear gap in their ability to weather the downturn and in their financial stability.
Hanmi Semiconductor secured Micron as a major customer alongside its primary client SK Hynix, reducing its dependence on any single account. Hanwha Semitech, however, remains locked into a single-customer structure with SK Hynix while also exposing vulnerabilities in its financial position—weaknesses that could prove costly in the competitive landscape ahead.
Hanmi Semiconductor Defends Margins Through Customer Diversification
According to South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service electronic disclosure system, Hanmi Semiconductor posted first-half revenue of ₩302.1 billion (approximately $213.2 million) and operating profit of ₩138.8 billion (approximately $98.0 million), down 7.7% and 11.0% year-over-year, respectively. But the quarterly breakdown tells a different story. Q1 operating profit came in at just ₩8.5 billion (approximately $6.0 million), with an operating margin of 17%—an earnings shock that fell far short of market expectations. In Q2, however, the company delivered record quarterly results: revenue of ₩251.1 billion (approximately $177.2 million) and operating profit of ₩130.3 billion (approximately $92.0 million), representing a 51.9% operating margin. By immediately offsetting the Q1 shortfall, the company lifted its cumulative first-half operating margin to the mid-40% range.
Customer diversification is credited as the key factor behind the company’s ability to defend profitability in a challenging order environment. Hanmi Semiconductor strengthened its partnership with Micron by expanding delivery volumes alongside its largest customer SK Hynix, significantly dispersing the risk that order delays from any single client could destabilize overall performance.
The company is also continuing to broaden its growth foundation. This month, Hanmi Semiconductor’s board approved a $1.5 million (approximately ₩2 billion) investment to establish Hanmi USA, a local subsidiary in San Jose, California. Unlike other equipment makers with heavy reliance on domestic customers, Hanmi Semiconductor is proactively building a close-response infrastructure in the United States to expand its overseas order base.
Hanwha Semitech: Revenue Up, Profit Flat—Financial Risk Mounting
Hanwha Semitech, by contrast, posted first-half revenue of ₩230.8 billion (approximately $162.9 million) and operating profit of just ₩300 million (approximately $211,757), an operating margin of 0.13%. Q2 revenue surged 77.6% quarter-over-quarter to ₩147.7 billion (approximately $104.3 million). On a consolidated basis at parent company Hanwha Vision, results beat market consensus by 8.2% on revenue and 34.0% on operating profit, but the Semitech division itself showed slower profit improvement relative to its revenue growth. Following Q4 of last year (operating margin of 0.7%), the pattern of rising revenue with stagnant profit is repeating.
The more fundamental problem lies in the financial structure. Last year, Hanwha Semitech recognized ₩91.6 billion (approximately $64.7 million) in deferred tax assets to avoid capital impairment. To actually realize the value of these assets, the company must generate approximately ₩380 billion (approximately $268.2 million) in cumulative taxable income going forward. Operating cash flow has also been negative for two consecutive years (-₩17.5 billion in 2025), with the company managing immediate cash outflows by increasing accounts payable.
An industry source in the equipment sector said, “At a time when Hanwha Semitech should be expanding production capacity and pursuing new customers, financial risk management to protect deferred tax assets has become the priority. There are clear limitations in its ability to keep pace with Hanmi Semiconductor in terms of investment capacity and speed.”
Divergence Expected to Continue in Second Half
Securities analysts largely expect the divergence between the two companies to persist into the second half. Cha Yong-ho, an analyst at LS Securities, raised his target price for Hanmi Semiconductor, noting that “major customers are resuming HBM4 equipment orders.” Indeed, Hanmi Semiconductor’s share of TC bonders supplied to SK Hynix is projected to expand from 50% in 2025 to around 60% this year, with order recovery becoming increasingly visible.
A comparison of the two companies’ first-half results and financial metrics is as follows:
MetricHanmi SemiconductorHanwha SemitechH1 Revenue₩302.1 billion₩230.8 billionH1 Operating Profit₩138.8 billion₩300 millionH1 Operating Margin~46%0.13%Q2 Revenue₩251.1 billion₩147.7 billionQ2 Operating Margin51.9%Negligible relative to revenueMajor CustomersSK Hynix, MicronSK Hynix
Note: H1 operating margins are based on each company’s disclosures. Hanwha Semitech’s Q2 operating margin was not separately disclosed but stood at just 0.13% on a cumulative H1 basis.
As the HBM market transitions to HBM4, the gap between Hanmi Semiconductor—which is accelerating customer diversification and overseas expansion—and Hanwha Semitech—which is constrained by single-customer dependence and financial risk—is expected to widen further in the near term.