S&S Tech

S&S Tech is Korea's sole specialized manufacturer of blank masks, the base substrate used to make photomasks for semiconductor and display processes.

The company is the only domestic producer of blank masks and has supplied deep ultraviolet (DUV) blank masks, a technology tier below EUV, to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. It has recently focused on expanding into EUV blank masks within this product line.

Its customer base extends beyond large domestic clients to Chinese foundries and fabless companies, and DS Investment & Securities noted in a July 2025 report that the company holds more than a 40% share of China's semiconductor blank mask market.

In the display segment, OLED panels once used mainly in premium smartphones have begun spreading to tablets, laptops, and vehicles, rapidly expanding the market for display blank masks as well.

The company completed a dedicated EUV center at the Yongin semiconductor cluster in Gyeonggi Province, investing about KRW 100 billion to build a facility spanning 10,809 square meters.

The EUV blank mask market is effectively dominated by Japanese firms including HOYA, AGC, and Shin-Etsu, and both Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix remain heavily dependent on these suppliers, positioning S&S Tech as the world's only non-Japanese blank mask maker and a potential alternative for supply-chain diversification.

The company is reportedly conducting joint development (JDP) with Samsung Electronics on phase shift masks (PSM), a higher-difficulty product category.

Consolidated 2025 revenue rose sharply to KRW 243.7 billion from KRW 176.0 billion in 2024, while operating profit jumped to KRW 50.4 billion from KRW 29.5 billion the prior year. The operating margin climbed steadily from 13.0% in 2022 to 16.7% in both 2023 and 2024, and then to 20.7% in 2025.

Net income attributable to owners rose for four consecutive years, from KRW 17.5 billion in 2022 to KRW 25.9 billion in 2023, KRW 30.5 billion in 2024, and KRW 58.3 billion in 2025.

On a quarterly basis, revenue of KRW 60.7 billion and operating profit of KRW 13.3 billion in 2025Q2 eased slightly to KRW 61.5 billion and KRW 11.9 billion in 2025Q3, before improving again to KRW 63.6 billion and KRW 13.3 billion in 2025Q4.

Notably, owners' net profit in 2025Q4 reached KRW 23.5 billion, far exceeding that quarter's operating profit of KRW 13.3 billion, a pattern that appears driven by non-operating items and is not one that recurs every quarter.

In 2026, revenue reached KRW 61.7 billion with operating profit of KRW 11.4 billion in Q1, and KRW 66.4 billion with operating profit of KRW 13.6 billion in Q2, setting a new quarterly revenue high.

Summing the trailing four quarters (2025Q3 through 2026Q2) yields revenue of roughly KRW 253.2 billion, above the prior full-year 2025 figure of KRW 243.7 billion. Liabilities increased from KRW 50.2 billion in 2024 to KRW 88.8 billion in 2025, a rise attributable to expanded capital spending including the EUV center.

Operating cash flow grew from KRW 24.9 billion in 2022 to KRW 46.9 billion in 2025, indicating that cash generation has improved alongside earnings growth.

Blank masks are a core material in semiconductor and display photolithography, and S&S Tech is the sole domestic producer of this material.

In the DUV (ArF/KrF) segment, the company's technology enables single patterning down to a minimum of 38 nanometers and multi-patterning down to 7 nanometers, supplying both domestic and overseas foundries. China in particular is expanding capacity focused on mature nodes, driving blank mask demand higher.

According to semiconductor industry association SEMI, China's chip production capacity is expected to grow 15% this year and 14% next year, and in this process Chinese firms have reportedly been actively purchasing blank masks from Korean suppliers, with some blank mask prices showing signs of significant increase in the second half of this year.

The EUV blank mask market remains at an early stage but is growing quickly; the global EUV blank mask market, valued at roughly $300 million this year, is projected to reach $1.3 billion by 2035, a 16.5% compound annual growth rate.

That market, however, has been heavily dependent on Japan, with HOYA and Asahi Glass having captured most of Samsung's volume as Japanese firms with more advanced materials technology have led supply.

Samsung Electronics currently imports most of its EUV blank masks from HOYA, but has faced procurement difficulties in the past due to issues such as earthquakes in Japan, prompting it to seek supply-chain diversification.

This presents S&S Tech with an entry opportunity as a challenger, while also requiring the company, as a newer entrant with a shorter verification and production track record, to build a reliable supply record.

The company's most significant upcoming event is qualification of its EUV blank mask for Samsung Electronics' foundry process.

Industry sources indicated Samsung was evaluating S&S Tech's EUV blank mask with a target of applying it in the second quarter, with completion expected by that month or, at the latest, the following month, according to a January 2026 Electronic Times report.

Samsung Electronics was later reported to be testing the EUV blank mask on an actual 4nm foundry production line, marking the first time it had been introduced onto a production line, according to a April 2026 THE ELEC report.

Chairman Jung Soo-hong said in a July 2026 interview that "the EUV blank mask qualification test currently underway with a global memory maker is in its final stage" and that he expects "it to be completed within the next six months." In the same interview, he stated that "by this December, installation of major equipment will be fully complete" and that "production capacity will roughly double from current levels,