PER, EPS, PBR and BPS are calculated in-house from the last 4 quarters (2025Q3–2026Q2) · Dividend yield is based on ₩0 per share · Prices as of the 2026-10-02 close
While the core semiconductor parts business shows a revenue recovery and subsidiary Verismo Therapeutics advances its CAR-T clinical programs, consolidated results remain in a large operating loss zone.
2025 consolidated revenue rose to KRW 32.26 billion year over year, but the operating loss widened to KRW 37.55 billion.
Over the last five quarters (2025Q2-2026Q2), revenue has risen for three consecutive quarters since 2025Q3 despite fluctuations.
The standalone semiconductor segment posted H1 2026 revenue of KRW 19.9 billion and operating profit of KRW 0.8 billion, staying profitable.
Subsidiary Verismo's solid-tumor and blood-cancer CAR-T pipelines are in Phase 1 clinical trials in the United States.
In May 2026 the company issued a KRW 40.5 billion convertible bond to fund clinical development and strengthen global partnering leverage.
HLB Innovation was founded in 1978 as a semiconductor parts manufacturer and listed on KOSDAQ in 2001, and it took its current name after joining the HLB Group in 2023.
Its core business is the lead frame, a key semiconductor packaging component, and it also produces higher value-added items such as power module lead frames for power semiconductors, pre-mold products used in image sensors and automotive pressure sensors, and ultra-precision contact pins for IC test sockets, alongside standard DIP, QFP, and SOP lead frames.
In response to growth in the electric vehicle and power semiconductor markets, the company has been broadening its product portfolio toward automotive sensor and power semiconductor lead frames to diversify its customer base.
Coinciding with its 2023 entry into the HLB Group, the company also expanded into biotech, and in December 2024 it brought CAR-T developer Verismo Therapeutics, founded by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, under its umbrella as a subsidiary. Verismo is conducting U.S.
Phase 1 trials for solid-tumor candidate SynKIR-110 and blood-cancer candidate SynKIR-310 based on its proprietary KIR-CAR platform.
In July 2026, HLB Group chairman Jin Yang-kon was appointed co-CEO overseeing overall management and the semiconductor business, while co-CEO Bryan Kim continues to lead the biotech division.
Within the group, HLB Innovation is the only affiliate with semiconductor manufacturing capabilities, and it also plays a role in financially supporting the group's new drug development and in attempting to combine semiconductor and biotech technologies.
In terms of competitive positioning, the company's global lead frame market share is reported to be below 1%, with peers such as Haesung DS, MK Electron, Signetics, SFA Semicon, and Duksan Hi-Metal commonly cited as comparable listed companies in the sector.
| Quarter | Revenue | Operating profit | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025Q2 | ₩9B | -₩9.5B | −105.9% |
| 2025Q3 | ₩7.6B | -₩9.5B | −126.2% |
| 2025Q4 | ₩8.2B | -₩8.7B | −106.1% |
| 2026Q1 | ₩9.4B | -₩10.4B | −109.9% |
| 2026Q2 | ₩10.6B | -₩9.2B | −87.2% |
| Year | Revenue | Operating profit | Net income (parent) | Op. margin | ROE | Debt-to-equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | ₩50.7B | ₩800M | -₩800M | 1.7% | −5.6% | 153.5% |
| 2023 | ₩20.6B | -₩900M | -₩800M | −4.6% | −1.3% | 61.6% |
| 2024 | ₩25.4B | -₩11.9B | -₩12.4B | −46.9% | −5.0% | 6.4% |
| 2025 | ₩32.3B | -₩37.6B | -₩33.4B | −116.4% | −15.9% | 21.4% |
Consolidated basis (financial statements including subsidiaries) · Final figures from DART filings · Net income attributable to owners of the parent · Data as of 2026-09-04
Consolidated revenue fell from KRW 50.75 billion in 2022 to KRW 20.58 billion in 2023, then rose for two consecutive years to KRW 25.36 billion in 2024 and KRW 32.26 billion in 2025.
Over the same period, operating profit swung from a KRW 0.85 billion gain in 2022 to a KRW 0.94 billion loss in 2023, then widened to losses of KRW 11.88 billion in 2024 and KRW 37.55 billion in 2025. The operating margin deteriorated steadily from 1.7% in 2022 to -4.6% in 2023, -46.9% in 2024, and -116.4% in 2025.
Net loss attributable to owners also grew from KRW 12.37 billion in 2024 to KRW 33.37 billion in 2025, with the widening losses largely attributed to Verismo's CAR-T trial costs being reflected for a full year for the first time in 2025 after its December 2024 acquisition.
On a quarterly basis, revenue moved from KRW 8.99 billion to KRW 7.56 billion, KRW 8.16 billion, KRW 9.45 billion, and KRW 10.59 billion from 2025Q2 through 2026Q2, rising for three straight quarters since 2025Q3.
Operating losses over the same span ranged between roughly KRW 8.66 billion and KRW 10.38 billion per quarter, remaining large while fluctuating, and net loss attributable to owners swung between KRW 4.39 billion and KRW 10.28 billion, showing relatively large quarter-to-quarter variation.
Operating cash flow moved from an inflow of KRW 0.26 billion in 2023 to outflows of KRW 7.90 billion in 2024 and KRW 30.08 billion in 2025, indicating that clinical development funding needs are placing a direct burden on cash flow.
Separately, on a standalone (semiconductor-only) basis, H1 2026 revenue reached KRW 19.9 billion with operating profit of KRW 0.8 billion, up roughly 21% in revenue from the prior year with a sharp improvement in operating profit, which the company attributed to rising customer demand for test-socket contact pins amid AI semiconductor market expansion and a broader semiconductor industry recovery.
Demand in the semiconductor parts end-market is being driven by rising memory semiconductor demand tied to AI industry growth and the shift toward electric and hybrid vehicle electrification.
HLB Innovation is described as benefiting from this trend through rising demand for test-socket contact pins and automotive lead frame products. Expanding into higher value-added product lines such as automotive sensor and power semiconductor lead frames is a strategic direction the company emphasizes within the group.
However, the company's global lead frame market share is reported to be below 1%, leaving a scale gap versus domestic peers such as Haesung DS, MK Electron, Signetics, SFA Semicon, and Duksan Hi-Metal.
In biotech, the industry is at an early stage where CAR-T, antibody-drug conjugates (ADC), and bispecific immunotherapies are being competitively developed, with anti-tumor activity being confirmed across various modalities.
Verismo's KIR-CAR platform is positioned as a differentiated approach aiming to address T-cell exhaustion issues seen in existing CAR-T therapies, and solid tumors remain a challenging area where many global pharmaceutical companies have yet to find clear solutions.
Against this backdrop, HLB Innovation occupies a distinctive position combining a stable cash-generating semiconductor business with an early-stage, high-risk, high-growth biotech operation.
Since joining the HLB Group in 2023, the company has continued annual facility and production equipment investment of roughly KRW 2 billion to improve semiconductor product quality and manufacturing yield, and it has stated plans to cultivate new lead frame models targeting the autonomous and smart vehicle markets as a future growth driver.
In biotech, Verismo plans to release Phase 1 interim data for blood-cancer candidate SynKIR-310 in the second half of the year, following interim results for solid-tumor candidate SynKIR-110 that were presented in a plenary session at AACR 2026.
In July 2026, Verismo further expanded its solid-tumor preclinical pipeline by securing a new binder targeting Claudin-6 (CLDN6) through research collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania.
On the funding side, in May 2026 the company issued a KRW 40.5 billion convertible bond, with all proceeds earmarked for Verismo's clinical development and operating funds, carrying a 0.0% coupon rate, 2.0% maturity rate, a maturity date of May 15, 2029, and a conversion price of KRW 25,885.
In issuing this CB, the company secured call options from all investors, which it described as a structure to manage potential equity dilution risk from future conversions.
On September 4, 2026, the company disclosed that it had completed the acquisition of a 99.3% stake in HLB Cell from HLB Life Science for KRW 36.2 billion, a move interpreted as part of a broader group asset realignment supporting its dual semiconductor-biotech growth strategy.
On the governance side, chairman Jin Yang-kon took over as co-CEO in July 2026 with a stated aim of accelerating decision-making across both the semiconductor and biotech businesses.
The company has recorded net losses in both its recent annual and quarterly results, making a conventional price-to-earnings approach difficult to apply.
As a result, market valuation tends to be driven less by current earnings and more by expectations tied to future events such as progress in Verismo's CAR-T clinical pipeline.
The stock tends to trade at a premium to net asset value, which can be interpreted as reflecting expectations around the group's biotech drug development more heavily than a traditional asset-value assessment of a semiconductor parts maker.
There has been no dividend payment recorded in recent fiscal years, making a dividend-yield perspective difficult to apply.
With consolidated losses continuing, the recovery trajectory of the semiconductor segment's profitability and the timing of clinical data disclosures are likely to remain key variables for future valuation.
PER, EPS, PBR and BPS are all calculated in-house (the same method as Naver and Toss) · Dividend yield = cash dividend per share from DART filings (supplemented by KRX) ÷ current price · As of 2026-09-04
Boosted by AI semiconductor market growth and vehicle electrification demand, H1 2026 standalone revenue rose about 21% year over year to KRW 19.9 billion, with a sharp improvement in operating profit. Consolidated revenue over the last four quarters (2025Q3-2026Q2) has also shown a recovery trend after fluctuations.
Expanding demand for test-socket contact pins and automotive lead frames is cited as the core driver of this recovery.
Interim results for solid-tumor candidate SynKIR-110 were presented in a plenary session at AACR 2026, with the company stating that meaningful anti-tumor response and manageable safety were confirmed.
The company plans to disclose additional Phase 1 interim data for blood-cancer candidate SynKIR-310 in the second half of the year. In July 2026, it also expanded its solid-tumor pipeline by securing a new binder targeting CLDN6.
In July 2026, chairman Jin Yang-kon took over as CEO with a stated aim of speeding up decision-making across both the semiconductor and biotech businesses.
In May of the same year, the company issued a KRW 40.5 billion convertible bond to secure clinical funding and global partnering leverage, while also obtaining call options from all investors as a mechanism to manage potential dilution.
Consolidated operating losses widened from KRW 11.88 billion in 2024 to KRW 37.55 billion in 2025, and losses of KRW 10.38 billion and KRW 9.23 billion continued in Q1 and Q2 2026, respectively.
Operating cash outflow also expanded to KRW 30.08 billion in 2025, showing that clinical funding needs are weighing on cash flow.
SynKIR-110 and SynKIR-310 remain in Phase 1, leaving multiple subsequent trial stages and regulatory approval steps before any commercialization. Solid tumors remain a challenging field where CAR-T, ADC, and bispecific antibody approaches compete, and early-stage data does not guarantee eventual success.
Nine of the HLB Group's ten listed affiliates have issued convertible bonds, and analysts have noted that weak share prices could prompt investors to exercise early redemption (put) options, increasing cash burden.
Concerns over equity dilution have also been raised around HLB Innovation's recent acquisition of HLB Cell shares from HLB Life Science and related capital-raising steps.
Repeated convertible bond issuances and intercompany asset transfer structures carry the potential for further equity dilution. If the share price weakens, increased exercise of early redemption rights by CB holders could raise cash outflow pressure.
CAR-T therapies face the possibility that safety and efficacy signals may not be replicated as they progress from Phase 1 to later stages, and the sector is broadly exposed to biotech industry uncertainties such as regulatory review delays. Solid tumors remain a challenging area without a firmly established standard-of-care alternative.
Analysts note that issues such as delays in new drug approvals at the HLB Group level could have a cascading effect on affiliate share prices and CB repayment burdens. Changes in the group's overall financing environment could also affect HLB Innovation's own funding operations.
The 2026 Q3 consolidated earnings release is expected, a point to check whether semiconductor segment profitability improvement continues and how the HLB Cell acquisition affects earnings.
Investors should watch for the disclosure and content of Verismo's Phase 1 interim data for blood-cancer CAR-T candidate SynKIR-310.
Progress on the new CLDN6-targeted solid-tumor preclinical program and any subsequent investigational new drug (IND) filing should be monitored.
Developments around the call option or conversion status of the KRW 40.5 billion convertible bond issued in May 2026 should be monitored, as they relate to potential future changes in share structure.
HLB Innovation is a company where two distinct threads coexist: a revenue recovery in its core semiconductor parts business and clinical progress at its biotech subsidiary Verismo's CAR-T programs.
The semiconductor segment has remained profitable on a standalone basis, benefiting from AI and electrification-driven demand, while on a consolidated basis the company posted an operating loss of KRW 37.55 billion in 2025, reflecting Verismo's clinical costs, with large losses continuing into H1 2026.
In biotech, clinical events have continued, including the AACR plenary presentation for SynKIR-110, planned H2 2026 interim data for SynKIR-310, and the expansion of a new CLDN6-targeted pipeline.
On the financing side, the group has been undertaking asset and capital restructuring, including the KRW 40.5 billion CB issuance and the HLB Cell share acquisition, which secures growth funding but also raises concerns about dilution and potential spillover of group-level risk.
Valuation appears to be driven more by clinical data and the pace of semiconductor segment recovery than by current earnings. Investors may want to monitor the upcoming quarterly earnings release, the disclosure of SynKIR-310 interim data, and developments related to the convertible bond.
Report written 2026-09-05 · Data as of 2026-09-04
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