Fine Semitech

FST is a semiconductor materials, parts and equipment company built on two pillars: a materials business producing pellicles for lithography processes, and an equipment business supplying infrastructure gear such as chillers that regulate temperature in etch and cleaning processes.

The materials division is understood to hold roughly 80% share of the domestic semiconductor pellicle market and about 60% of the flat panel display (FPD) pellicle market.

Its historically dominant product is the pellicle for argon fluoride (ArF) lithography, an area where the company is regarded as holding a leading position.

More recently, it has developed a next-generation extreme ultraviolet (EUV) pellicle using carbon nanotube (CNT) membranes and is negotiating supply prices with Samsung Electronics.

The equipment division centers on chillers that control temperature in etch process chambers, with an estimated share above half among infrastructure-equipment vendors serving its core customer.

Revenue is split mainly between materials (pellicles) and equipment (chillers, etc.), with disclosed figures showing the materials business accounting for roughly half of total sales and the equipment business a share close behind.

Affiliate ISOL develops EUV mask inspection and review equipment, with FST participating as a major shareholder. Samsung Electronics is the core customer, and Samsung made an equity investment in FST in 2021 to support joint development of EUV pellicles.

On the competitive front, the global EUV pellicle market has long been led by Japan's Mitsui Chemicals, while domestically S&S Tech competes in blank masks and EUV pellicles.

Consolidated revenue fell from KRW 223.4 billion in 2022 to KRW 197.6 billion in 2023, then rose for two straight years to KRW 237.4 billion in 2024 and KRW 280.3 billion in 2025, a four-year high.

Operating profit swung sharply: from a profit of KRW 6.18 billion (2.8% margin) in 2022 to a loss of KRW 10.78 billion (-5.5% margin) in 2023, back to a profit of KRW 2.29 billion (1.0% margin) in 2024, then a small loss of KRW 0.55 billion (-0.2% margin) in 2025.

Net income attributable to owners was similarly volatile, from a large gain of KRW 44.07 billion in 2022 to KRW -13.55 billion in 2023, KRW 1.45 billion in 2024, and KRW -12.32 billion in 2025. Over the same period, the debt ratio rose every year, from 60.6% in 2022 to 70.5% in 2023, 107.3% in 2024 and 122.9% in 2025.

Quarterly operating profit went from KRW 1.73 billion in Q2 2025 to losses of KRW -1.87 billion in Q3 and KRW -3.16 billion in Q4, widening in the second half.

Net income attributable to owners posted its largest loss of the recent five quarters in Q3 2025 at KRW -6.49 billion, a loss wider than the operating loss, pointing to non-operating factors at play.

In Q1 2026, operating profit turned positive at KRW 1.42 billion, but net income attributable to owners remained negative at KRW -2.88 billion.

Q2 2026 showed a clear improvement with revenue of KRW 89.3 billion and operating profit of KRW 9.62 billion (about 10.8% margin), while net income attributable to owners turned positive at KRW 7.32 billion, the best quarter in the recent five-quarter window.

Still, the trailing four quarters (Q3 2025 through Q2 2026) combined for a net loss attributable to owners of about KRW -4.6 billion, even as operating cash flow was positive at KRW 14.07 billion for full-year 2025 despite the net loss.

The global semiconductor industry continues to invest in advanced processes centered on artificial intelligence (AI) and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) demand, with Samsung Electronics and other foundry and memory makers expanding EUV lithography use across finer process nodes.

Pellicles for mask protection had not previously been adopted in EUV lithography, but as processes shrink below the 2-nanometer node, the need for pellicles to prevent mask contamination is growing.

This market has long been supplied almost exclusively by Japan's Mitsui Chemicals, but the competitive landscape is being reshaped as carbon nanotube (CNT) membrane-based materials emerge as an alternative suited to extreme-heat environments.

FST has signed a commercial production-related agreement with Finland's Canatu, a supplier of CNT membrane manufacturing equipment, and is cited as a company capable of commercially producing second-generation CNT-based EUV pellicles globally.

Even so, EUV pellicles are being negotiated with Samsung Electronics in a price range below KRW 50 million per unit, dozens of times higher than existing DUV pellicles (which range from a few hundred thousand won up to about KRW 1 million per unit), so actual adoption and final pricing carry significant weight for results.

A domestic competitor, S&S Tech, develops blank masks and EUV pellicles, intensifying competition around materials localization.

In the infrastructure equipment (chiller) segment, the pace of fab expansion investment by key customers directly affects revenue, with domestic and overseas fab investment plans cited as the key variable for related orders.

Yuanta Securities projected in an April 2026 report that FST's 2026 chiller equipment revenue would rise 11.3% year over year to KRW 124 billion, and materials division revenue would grow 13.3% to KRW 188.5 billion, with pellicle sales within that reaching KRW 130 billion (+17.5%).

The same report expected consolidated operating profit of KRW 23.1 billion (7.5% margin) in 2026 and KRW 37.1 billion (10.5% margin) in 2027, turning positive and setting new highs.

These are brokerage estimates from a specific point in time, however, and actual results should be checked against the confirmed Q1 and Q2 2026 figures already disclosed, with further verification needed through future quarterly filings.

CTT reported in January 2026 that FST's CNT-based EUV pellicle could progress through mass-production approval in Q2, trial production in Q3, and full-scale mass production in Q4 of 2026, with initial supply volume estimated at around 150 sheets.

Samsung Electronics is reportedly considering applying FST's pellicle to part of its 2-nanometer foundry process, with the exact supply price still under negotiation.

Samsung Electronics made an equity investment in FST in 2021 to support joint development of EUV pellicles, and this partnership is cited as the basis for a future transition to mass production.

Beyond the EUV pellicle itself, the company is expanding into related infrastructure equipment such as pellicle attachment/detachment and inspection systems.