PER, EPS, PBR and BPS are calculated in-house from the last 4 quarters (2025Q3–2026Q2) · Dividend yield is based on ₩100 per share · Prices as of the 2026-10-02 close
DNF has posted three consecutive quarters of operating profit from Q4 2025 through Q2 2026, emerging from a multi-year loss phase, though its heavy customer concentration in Samsung Electronics remains a persistent variable.
Three consecutive quarters of operating profit from 2025Q4 to 2026Q2, a shift from the loss trend that had persisted since 2022
Controlling shareholder Solvrain has continued on-market purchases since its acquisition, raising its stake to the mid-30% range
Hafnium precursor development has been completed, with a rival's key patent set to expire in November 2026, drawing attention to a potential new supply opportunity
The company has developed a precursor for EUV dry photoresist and is participating in a government-backed mass-production evaluation program
An overwhelming revenue concentration in Samsung Electronics remains the core variable behind earnings volatility
DNF was founded in 2001 and listed on KOSDAQ in 2007 as a specialist in thin-film precursor materials for semiconductor devices.
Its main product lines consist of double/quadruple patterning (DPT/QPT) materials, High-k materials that boost charge-storage efficiency in DRAM capacitors, low-temperature SiO/SiN materials, and ACL materials for hardmask applications.
The company holds roughly 50 types of precursors and has counted Samsung Electronics as its core customer since jointly developing an aluminum CVD precursor with Samsung in 2005.
Samsung Electronics is DNF's largest customer, accounting for more than 90 percent of revenue, while SK Hynix accounts for roughly 5 to 6 percent, according to industry reports. In October 2023, Solvrain's board decided to acquire 2 million DNF shares for KRW 96 billion at a per-share price of KRW 48,000.
In this process, Samsung Electronics did not participate in the share sale and retained the 7 percent stake it had acquired for KRW 21 billion in 2021.
Since then, controlling shareholder Solvrain has continued on-market purchases, and as of April 2, 2026, the combined holding of Solvrain and related parties was reported at 33.36 percent.
The competitive landscape includes domestic precursor makers such as Duksan Techopia, Lake Materials, Mecaro, and SK Trichem, and in particular the hafnium-based High-k material market, long dependent on a single Japanese licensor, is showing signs of moving toward a dual-supplier structure.
| Quarter | Revenue | Operating profit | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025Q2 | ₩18.4B | -₩1.2B | −6.4% |
| 2025Q3 | ₩21.1B | -₩1B | −4.9% |
| 2025Q4 | ₩22.4B | ₩2.1B | 9.3% |
| 2026Q1 | ₩20.9B | ₩700M | 3.4% |
| 2026Q2 | ₩21.7B | ₩700M | 3.2% |
| Year | Revenue | Operating profit | Net income (parent) | Op. margin | ROE | Debt-to-equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | ₩135.2B | ₩16.3B | ₩5.8B | 12.1% | 3.8% | 20.8% |
| 2023 | ₩84.2B | -₩2.9B | ₩5.2B | −3.4% | 3.3% | 6.8% |
| 2024 | ₩73.9B | -₩1B | ₩600M | −1.4% | 0.4% | 5.7% |
| 2025 | ₩79.1B | -₩700M | ₩1.2B | −0.9% | 0.8% | 7.2% |
Consolidated basis (financial statements including subsidiaries) · Final figures from DART filings · Net income attributable to owners of the parent · Data as of 2026-08-23
On an annual basis, DNF's revenue peaked at KRW 135.18 billion with operating profit of KRW 16.31 billion (an operating margin of 12.1 percent) in 2022, before swinging to an operating loss of KRW 2.86 billion (a margin of -3.4 percent) on revenue of KRW 84.23 billion in 2023.
In 2024, revenue fell further to KRW 73.95 billion, but the operating loss narrowed to KRW 1.02 billion (a margin of -1.4 percent), and in 2025 revenue rebounded to KRW 79.13 billion while the operating loss shrank further to KRW 0.67 billion (a margin of -0.9 percent), approaching breakeven.
Net income attributable to owners followed a different pattern, at KRW 5.17 billion in 2023, KRW 0.63 billion in 2024, and KRW 1.24 billion in 2025, suggesting non-operating financial income helped support the bottom line even as operating results lagged.
On a quarterly basis, DNF posted revenue of KRW 18.38 billion with an operating loss of KRW 1.18 billion and a net loss attributable to owners of KRW 1.09 billion in Q2 2025, followed by continued losses in Q3 2025 with revenue of KRW 21.11 billion and an operating loss of KRW 1.03 billion.
In Q4 2025, however, revenue rose to KRW 22.36 billion with a clear swing to an operating profit of KRW 2.07 billion and net income attributable to owners of KRW 3.76 billion.
The profitable trend continued into Q1 2026 with revenue of KRW 20.88 billion, operating profit of KRW 0.71 billion, and net income of KRW 0.50 billion, and into Q2 2026 with revenue of KRW 21.69 billion, operating profit of KRW 0.70 billion, and net income of KRW 0.66 billion, marking three consecutive quarters of operating profit.
This trajectory shows the revenue contraction and loss phase that followed the 2022 peak turning direction from the second half of 2025, though the scale of profit remains modest, making it premature to conclude that a stable earnings base has fully taken hold.
DNF's downstream market is memory semiconductors, centered on DRAM and NAND. As memory process nodes shrink, the aspect ratio of DRAM capacitors rises and insulating-film characteristics become more critical, which tends to structurally increase demand for High-k precursors.
The hafnium-based High-k precursor market in particular has long been dependent on a single supplier, with Samsung Electronics sourcing hafnium precursor entirely from Adeka Korea; because the patent landscape is tightly held, both Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have relied on a single vendor, though a move toward dual-sourcing has recently emerged.
In this shift, DNF has been named as a candidate alternative on the Samsung side, while Mecaro is named on the SK Hynix side.
In the lithography process, EUV dry photoresist is emerging as a next-generation alternative for advanced nodes; dry PR precursor is a material of growing demand and importance, as conventional wet PR suffered from pattern collapse due to liquid surface tension at sub-7nm nodes, while dry PR removes this physical limitation to enable stable pattern formation even at high aspect ratios.
Expanding demand for HBM and AI-server memory is stimulating advanced-process capital investment among downstream chipmakers, creating a phase in which structural upside and intensifying competition coexist for domestic precursor makers including DNF.
Rival firms such as Duksan Techopia, Lake Materials, Mecaro, and SK Trichem are exposed to similar downstream cycles, making shifts in customer-specific share the key variable behind differentiated performance.
DNF's outlook can be split into three tracks. The first is whether volumes recover in its existing core products—High-k, DPT, and HCDS precursors—given that operating profit has now been positive for three consecutive quarters since Q4 2025, making continued utilization recovery at customers a key point to watch.
The second is the new-product pipeline: DNF, building on its know-how in developing and producing zirconium precursor, has succeeded in developing a hafnium precursor and is pursuing commercialization with the late-2026 expiration of Japan's Tri Chemical Laboratories (TCLC) hafnium precursor patent as its target timeline.
However, the company has stated that while hafnium precursor development is complete, actual product supply will take time as customer testing and other processes proceed.
The third is that DNF has developed a precursor for EUV dry photoresist and has been selected for a mass-production performance evaluation program supported by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, currently at the evaluation stage; the company is reported to have begun EUV dry PR precursor development back in 2021.
On the governance side, controlling shareholder Solvrain has continued to raise its stake, making it worth watching how sales and R&D linkages between Solvrain's etching/cleaning materials business and DNF's precursor business take shape going forward.
That said, most of these new initiatives remain at an early stage of customer testing or mass-production evaluation, so the timing and scale of their revenue contribution have not yet been determined.
DNF has recently posted operating profit for three consecutive quarters, marking a shift from loss to profit, but because this profitable stretch has lasted less than a year, the durability of these earnings still needs to be confirmed over time.
The share price sits close to book value per share, a range in which no pronounced premium or discount to net assets stands out. The company has maintained modest cash dividends even through periods of operating losses, though shareholder returns via dividends remain relatively modest.
The price-to-earnings multiple observed at this early stage of earnings recovery should be interpreted differently from a multiple built on a stable earnings base, and how many additional quarters of operating profit follow will likely serve as an important reference point going forward.
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 2026-08-23
DNF swung to an operating profit of KRW 2.07 billion in Q4 2025 and sustained the trend with KRW 0.71 billion in Q1 2026 and KRW 0.70 billion in Q2 2026. This can be read as an early signal of emerging from the revenue contraction and loss phase that followed the 2022 peak.
However, the scale of profit remains modest, so the firmness of the trend needs to be confirmed through additional quarters.
Controlling shareholder Solvrain has continued on-market purchases since acquiring the company in October 2023, raising its stake to 33.36 percent as of April 2026.
Samsung Electronics has also retained the 7 percent stake it acquired in 2021 without selling, meaning a large materials group and the company's largest customer both continue to hold stakes simultaneously. This ownership structure is a notable fact regarding management stability.
DNF has completed development of a hafnium precursor, and with a relevant patent held by Japan's TCLC set to expire in November 2026, industry attention continues on the potential new supply opportunity.
The company has also developed a precursor for EUV dry photoresist and has been selected for a government-backed mass-production evaluation program that is currently underway. Both initiatives remain at an early stage, but success could contribute to diversifying the product portfolio.
DNF's revenue is reportedly more than 90 percent dependent on Samsung Electronics, meaning results are heavily swayed by that single customer's ordering and investment strategy. SK Hynix accounts for only about 5 to 6 percent, suggesting customer diversification has not progressed substantially.
This structure is difficult to change quickly even as new customer acquisition or product diversification proceeds.
DNF's revenue contracted from KRW 135.1 billion in 2022 to KRW 84.2 billion in 2023 and further to KRW 73.9 billion in 2024, before rebounding to KRW 79.1 billion in 2025. Over this period, the operating margin also turned from 12.1 percent to negative and has not recovered for several years.
While revenue rebound and profit recovery have begun together, a return to the previous peak level has not yet been confirmed.
Amid the move toward dual-sourcing in the hafnium precursor market, Mecaro is named as the alternative on the SK Hynix side while DNF is named on the Samsung Electronics side, making patent and quality competition with rivals unavoidable.
In the EUV dry PR field as well, large domestic and overseas chemical materials companies are competing to develop the technology, and it remains uncertain whether DNF can secure an advantage at the commercialization stage. It may take time before the success or failure of these new businesses is reflected directly in earnings.
The vast majority of revenue is concentrated in a single customer, Samsung Electronics, so strategic shifts such as production cuts or investment delays by that customer directly affect results. Diversification toward customers such as SK Hynix is underway, but its revenue contribution remains limited. This single-customer dependency is a factor that must be continuously weighed in any valuation of the company.
Although the company states hafnium precursor development is complete, it has also indicated that actual supply will take time due to procedures such as customer testing. The EUV dry PR precursor likewise remains at the mass-production evaluation stage, making the timing of commercialization difficult to predict.
If either initiative does not proceed as planned, the expected revenue contribution could be delayed or reduced.
Since the change of controlling shareholder to Solvrain in 2023, related-party transactions such as raw material and intermediate product dealings with affiliates may occur, requiring ongoing verification of the fairness of transaction terms from a minority shareholder protection standpoint.
As the controlling shareholder continues to expand its stake, monitoring through future stake-change disclosures and related-party transaction notes in annual reports is warranted.
Q3 2026 results are expected to be disclosed around this time, making it important to check whether operating profit extends to a fourth consecutive quarter and how fast revenue is recovering.
This is the expected expiration date of Japan's Tri Chemical Laboratories (TCLC) hafnium precursor patent, making it important to check progress on DNF's hafnium precursor customer testing and supply status.
It is worth checking the progress and any results announcement of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's mass-production performance evaluation for the EUV dry photoresist precursor.
If controlling shareholder Solvrain continues to disclose changes in its shareholding, it is worth confirming whether further on-market purchases occur and their stated purpose.
DNF has shown a shift from the revenue contraction and operating-loss phase that followed its 2022 peak, posting three consecutive quarters of operating profit from Q4 2025 through Q2 2026.
Controlling shareholder Solvrain's expanding stake and Samsung Electronics' retained holding can be viewed as factors supporting stability in governance and customer relationships.
At the same time, new business pipelines in hafnium precursor and EUV dry photoresist precursor are progressing, but both remain at the customer-testing or mass-production-evaluation stage, leaving the timing and scale of commercialization uncertain.
That said, the customer concentration in Samsung Electronics and the history of sharp revenue decline in recent years remain structural factors that heighten earnings volatility.
How many more quarters of operating profit follow, and whether the new businesses advance through customer approval, are likely to be the key variables in judging the company's direction going forward.
Report written 2026-09-05 · Data as of 2026-09-04
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