Intekplus

Founded in 1995, Intekplus is a machine-vision-based 3D/2D automated optical inspection equipment company operating in semiconductor back-end inspection, semiconductor mid-end inspection, and display and secondary battery inspection equipment.

As of the cumulative first three quarters of 2025, segment revenue was KRW 27.5 billion from semiconductor back-end inspection equipment and KRW 22.0 billion from battery and display inspection equipment, representing shares of 55% and 45% respectively.

Since 2025 the company has been pursuing a portfolio shift, expanding the share of semiconductor inspection equipment while reducing that of battery inspection equipment.

Its customer base, once centered on North American IDMs such as Intel, has broadened to include newly secured Japanese customers such as Ibiden, Shinko Electric and Toppan, alongside global top-tier substrate makers such as Samsung Electro-Mechanics and Unimicron.

The semiconductor outside-inspection market has long been led by KLA of the United States, whose Icos brand has supplied Intel, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

However, as specification requirements from customers and OSAT (outsourced assembly and test) providers have grown more complex, a market opening has emerged for domestic equipment makers, with Intekplus competing alongside Koh Young Technology, Nextin and Femtron in this niche.

The company was founded by researchers with a KAIST background, with roughly half of its workforce in R&D, and it holds in-house 3D measurement technology that is relatively rare among domestic peers.

As new initiatives, it is jointly developing glass-substrate-based semiconductor module inspection equipment with Intel, and is also pursuing localization of wafer bump 2D/3D inspection equipment as a government-backed national project.

Annual results peaked in 2022 with revenue of KRW 118.84 billion and operating profit of KRW 19.36 billion (an operating margin of 16.3%), after which the company posted three consecutive years of operating losses: KRW -11.09 billion in 2023 on revenue of KRW 74.80 billion, and KRW -15.59 billion in 2024 on revenue of KRW 83.87 billion.

In 2025, revenue rose to KRW 89.77 billion while the operating loss narrowed sharply to KRW -3.73 billion, with the net loss attributable to owners at KRW -3.31 billion, a much smaller shortfall than the prior year. Quarterly results show pronounced volatility.

After posting revenue of KRW 25.15 billion and an operating profit of KRW 1.58 billion in the second quarter of 2025, the company swung to an operating loss of KRW -4.92 billion in the third quarter as revenue fell sharply to KRW 9.93 billion, before rebounding to a large operating profit of KRW 4.08 billion on revenue of KRW 40.28 billion in the fourth quarter.

However, losses resumed in the first quarter of 2026 (revenue of KRW 12.81 billion, operating loss of KRW -1.91 billion) and the second quarter (revenue of KRW 8.96 billion, operating loss of KRW -5.12 billion).

This wide quarter-to-quarter swing is interpreted as reflecting the mismatch between order timing and revenue recognition inherent to project-based inspection equipment sales.

On the cash flow side, operating cash flow was positive at KRW 5.74 billion in 2025 despite the net loss, whereas it was negative at KRW -7.30 billion in 2024. The debt ratio rose from 73.0% in 2022 to 136.0% in 2023 and 172.6% in 2024, before easing slightly to 158.6% in 2025.

In the semiconductor back-end and packaging market, demand for advanced packaging processes such as CoWoS and FC-BGA is intensifying alongside the expansion of AI accelerator and HBM demand, and inspection equipment demand is rising in tandem.

The outside-inspection equipment market has long been led by KLA of the United States, whose Icos brand has supplied major customers including Intel, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

However, as specification demands from customers and OSAT providers have become more complex and varied, an opening has emerged for domestic equipment makers, with Intekplus, Koh Young Technology, Nextin and Femtron competing in this niche.

Japan's substrate inspection market had long been dominated by Takaoka, but rising demand for FC-BGA substrates for AI servers has increased demand for second vendors, and Intekplus has entered this market on the strength of its high-speed fine-bump measurement technology.

In Taiwan, supplying inspection equipment for CoWoS lines at global foundries and OSATs is a key opportunity, an area that has effectively been dominated by KLA of the United States.

The battery and display inspection equipment segment continues to face weak end-market conditions, prompting the company to reduce related headcount as part of a restructuring effort that is accelerating the shift in emphasis toward the semiconductor segment.

Yuanta Securities analyst Kwon Myung-jun said in an August 21, 2026 report that Intekplus's rising order intake makes it likely that revenue growth and profitability improvement will both materialize in the second half.

He noted that the company's U.S. semiconductor customers have announced expanded capital expenditure plans, and that the company gained a new OSAT customer this year after passing a quality inspection test for a global foundry customer.

The CoWoS inspection equipment order for a Taiwanese OSAT customer reportedly passed qualification testing in the first quarter of 2026 and is now awaiting a mass-production purchase order, with the structure reportedly allowing for multi-year annual revenue increments if the order is confirmed.

SK Securities said in an April 26, 2026 report that a return to profitability in 2026 has become visible for Intekplus, citing simultaneous progress on a pending Taiwan purchase order, shipments for an advanced packaging project at a North American customer, a Taiwan order win, expansion at domestic customers, and new customer acquisition in Japan.

In Japan, major substrate makers including Ibiden are reportedly planning large-scale capital expenditure spanning 2026 to 2028, and whether these customers execute on that capex could affect the company's revenue visibility going forward.

That said, given the company's project-based order and revenue recognition structure that can produce large quarter-to-quarter swings, it remains to be confirmed whether the second-half improvement trend actually continues.