G.I.Tech

GI Tech's core business centers on manufacturing and repairing slot dies, key components used in electrode coating processes for secondary batteries and hydrogen fuel cells, along with slit nozzles used in display photoresist coating.

Its major customers include global battery makers LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI, and SK On, along with multiple display equipment manufacturers.

Since establishing a systems division in 2020, the company has expanded its equipment lineup to include notching equipment, pump systems, and hydrogen fuel cell separator coating equipment, with pump systems for coating equipment supplied to both Samsung SDI and later LG Energy Solution's mass production lines.

In 2025 the company absorbed machine vision specialist MVTech through merger, broadening into inspection and vision equipment, with MVTech bringing customers such as Samsung Electro-Mechanics and Haesung DS from the semiconductor and electronics component sectors.

In the first quarter of 2026, component business revenue was KRW 6.33 billion (62.7% of sales) versus equipment and vision business revenue of KRW 3.76 billion (37.3%), and for the first half including the second quarter, equipment business revenue surged 84.4% year over year to KRW 10.11 billion, expanding to 51.4% of total sales.

In February 2026 the company also secured an order of roughly KRW 3.5 billion for a lens bonder from a global mobile component maker, signaling an attempt to broaden its revenue base beyond batteries.

Notching molds, a consumable in the electrode assembly process, are currently undergoing quality verification with major global battery makers, with commercialization remaining a variable for further growth.

This dual components-and-equipment structure is being reshaped to reduce reliance on any single division while building a portfolio spanning batteries, displays, and electronic components.

Annual results show a clear margin downtrend.

From revenue of KRW 39.6 billion and a 17.5% operating margin in 2022, the figures declined to KRW 36.6 billion and 12.3% in 2023, then KRW 37.8 billion and 8.1% in 2024, before shrinking further to KRW 36.2 billion in revenue with operating profit of KRW 1.12 billion (3.1% margin) in 2025.

The roughly 4.1% revenue decline and 63.1% operating profit decline in 2025 appear to reflect a combination of battery makers adjusting investment plans and softening negotiated slot die unit prices.

Notably, operating cash flow rose to KRW 7.08 billion in 2025 from KRW 3.59 billion in 2024, even as accounting profit fell, indicating cash generation held up separately from reported earnings. Quarterly figures show pronounced volatility.

Second-quarter 2025 revenue was KRW 11.34 billion with operating profit of KRW 1.45 billion, yet net income attributable to owners was a loss of KRW 764 million; the third quarter saw revenue plunge to KRW 6.35 billion with an operating loss of KRW 1.45 billion.

The fourth quarter then rebounded sharply to revenue of KRW 12.78 billion, operating profit of KRW 2.47 billion, and net income of KRW 2.43 billion, a trend that continued into the first quarter of 2026 with revenue of KRW 10.09 billion, operating profit of KRW 517 million, and net income of KRW 2.19 billion.

However, the second quarter of 2026 saw revenue of KRW 9.59 billion and a return to an operating loss of KRW 530 million, even as net income stayed positive at KRW 365 million, suggesting non-operating items influenced the net result and that a stable recovery in core operating profitability has not yet been firmly established.

GI Tech's core end market, secondary batteries, has recently passed through an EV demand slowdown, or 'chasm' phase, that delayed capacity expansion investment by battery makers both in Korea and abroad.

During this period, order cycles for consumable parts such as slot dies lengthened and negotiated unit prices softened, a dynamic linked to the company's margin decline between 2023 and 2025.

More recently, energy storage system (ESS) investment has been expanding rapidly among battery makers amid a surge in AI data center-driven power demand, and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, which are mainly used in ESS, reportedly require dedicated slot dies due to differences in slurry composition and coating thickness compared with nickel-based EV batteries.

This has drawn industry attention because it implies incremental slot die orders each time a customer builds or converts a line for ESS use.

In addition, as tariffs and tax credit restrictions on Chinese batteries tighten, demand for localized production within the United States is expanding, with Korea's three major battery makers also accelerating capacity expansion in North America.

In terms of competitive positioning, GI Tech has been credited with precision processing technology that has allowed it to supply slot dies to all three major domestic battery makers, though its results remain structurally tied to the investment cycle of its end markets.

The Korea IR Service Research Center estimated in a report published in March 2026 that GI Tech's 2026 consolidated revenue would rise 18.8% year over year to KRW 43.0 billion, with operating profit surging 267.3% to KRW 4.1 billion.

This outlook rests on the assumption of incremental slot die orders from expanding ESS investment and fixed-cost leverage, and it should be noted this remains an unconfirmed forecast.

In practice, combining reported first-quarter 2026 results (revenue of KRW 10.09 billion, operating profit of KRW 517 million) with second-quarter results (revenue of KRW 9.59 billion, an operating loss of KRW 530 million), the company reported first-half revenue up 15.2% year over year, but whether the full-year guidance is met will depend on second-half performance.

The company is building a new plant in Crown Point, Indiana, and has stated it is targeting full operation in the second half of 2026.

This plant is intended to reduce logistics costs and respond quickly to North American customers' repair and replacement needs; at the time of its first-quarter results, the company said sales of ESS-related slot dies to the United States were roughly KRW 2.5 billion and pump system sales to global customers were roughly KRW 2.0 billion.

Notching molds for the electrode assembly process are undergoing quality verification with major global battery makers, and whether they pass verification and are adopted for mass production could become an additional growth driver.

However, these newer business lines remain at an early stage, and the scale and timing of their revenue contribution will need to be confirmed through future disclosures and quarterly results.