PER, EPS, PBR and BPS are calculated in-house from the last 4 quarters (2025Q3–2026Q2) · Dividend yield is based on ₩0 per share · Prices as of the 2026-10-02 close
S-CHEM, an OLED material synthesis and purification company, saw revenue drop sharply and swing to a loss in 2025, and its quarterly earnings have continued to alternate between profit and loss into 2026 as the company pursues expansion into semiconductor and bio materials.
2025 revenue fell about 33% year over year to KRW 22.10 billion, and operating profit swung from a KRW 2.24 billion profit to a KRW 2.03 billion operating loss.
First-quarter 2026 revenue was KRW 6.665 billion with an operating profit of KRW 302 million, but the second quarter posted revenue of KRW 6.527 billion with an operating loss of about KRW 1.01 billion.
OLED materials accounted for 93.4% of total revenue in first-half 2026, while a new semiconductor materials business (including spin-on hardmask materials) completed pilot production and entered mass-production evaluation.
Revenue concentration in the top two customers reached 68.81%, exposing the company to earnings swings tied to supply-chain restructuring.
With no dividend payment history, capital appears to be allocated first toward facility investment and new-business expansion.
S-CHEM (renamed from its previous Korean-registered name in March 2025) is a specialty chemical materials company founded in 2014 and headquartered in Jecheon, Chungcheongbuk-do.
Its core business is the synthesis and purification of organic materials used in OLED emission layers, emission-assist layers, and common layers, alongside a materials recycling and purification business.
In first-half 2026, OLED materials accounted for 93.4% of total revenue, and within that, common-layer material sales rose from 25.8% to 39.1% of revenue year over year, reflecting a shift toward higher-value-add products.
Beyond OLED, the company also produces bio and healthcare materials, including in-vitro diagnostic (IVD) and life-science protein purification reagents, non-GMP pharmaceutical intermediates, and animal vitamins.
It has recently entered the semiconductor materials business, developing key materials for spin-on hardmasks (SOH) and wet-process additives, having completed pilot production and moved into mass-production evaluation.
Its customer base centers on suppliers within the domestic large-panel maker supply chain, with 68.81% of first-half 2025 revenue concentrated in the top two customers, including Samsung Display.
Competitors include Hanchem, an OEM materials supplier to LG Chem, and S-CHEM cites its ability to perform sublimation purification in-house after synthesis as a competitive strength.
The company has stated a long-term goal of transitioning from a materials supplier into an OEM maker that delivers finished OLED materials directly to panel makers.
| Quarter | Revenue | Operating profit | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025Q2 | ₩3.9B | -₩1B | −25.9% |
| 2025Q3 | ₩6.5B | -₩1B | −15.0% |
| 2025Q4 | ₩6.5B | -₩500M | −7.4% |
| 2026Q1 | ₩6.7B | ₩300M | 4.5% |
| 2026Q2 | ₩6.5B | -₩1B | −15.5% |
| Year | Revenue | Operating profit | Net income (parent) | Op. margin | ROE | Debt-to-equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | ₩24.4B | ₩1.9B | -₩900M | 7.9% | — | −856.5% |
| 2024 | ₩33.1B | ₩2.2B | ₩1B | 6.8% | 2.7% | 9.3% |
| 2025 | ₩22.1B | -₩2B | -₩2.2B | −9.2% | −6.0% | 9.9% |
Consolidated basis (financial statements including subsidiaries) · Final figures from DART filings · Net income attributable to owners of the parent · Data as of 2026-09-05
Full-year 2025 revenue came to KRW 22.10 billion, down about 33% from KRW 33.09 billion in 2024, and operating profit swung from a KRW 2.24 billion profit to a KRW 2.03 billion operating loss.
Net profit attributable to owners also reversed from a KRW 1.02 billion profit to a KRW 2.17 billion net loss, with the operating margin deteriorating from 6.8% to -9.2%.
By quarter, second-quarter 2025 revenue was a weak KRW 3.87 billion with an operating loss of KRW 1.00 billion, and while revenue recovered to the KRW 6.5 billion range in the third and fourth quarters, operating losses of KRW 980 million and KRW 484 million continued respectively.
First-quarter 2026 revenue was KRW 6.665 billion with an operating profit of KRW 302 million and owners' net profit of KRW 488 million, marking a quarterly return to profit.
However, second-quarter 2026 revenue held at a similar KRW 6.527 billion while the operating loss widened again to about KRW 1.01 billion and the net loss expanded to KRW 1.088 billion, meaning the profit was not sustained.
Trade press reported that first-half 2026 R&D expenses of KRW 2.195 billion and an inventory valuation loss of KRW 319 million tied to synthesized OLED materials weighed on second-quarter profitability.
On a cash-flow basis, 2025 operating cash flow was negative KRW 971 million, reversing from positive KRW 3.881 billion in 2024.
Owners' equity stood at negative KRW 3.624 billion in 2023 amid a pre-listing capital deficit, before improving to KRW 38.25 billion at end-2024 and KRW 36.09 billion at end-2025 following the November 2024 KOSDAQ listing.
The OLED materials market is closely tied to the production and shipment cycles of domestic and global large-panel makers.
According to Sino Research, Chinese display makers' share of global small- and mid-size OLED shipments reached 53.4% in the first quarter of 2025, up 8.5 percentage points from the prior quarter's 44.9%, while domestic panel makers' share fell to 46.6% over the same period.
A decline in domestic panel makers' share is seen as a potential headwind for the broader domestic materials value chain that supplies raw materials, intermediates, and finished products.
Hanchem, a company with a similar business structure, posted first-half 2025 revenue of KRW 18.9 billion and operating profit of KRW 3.3 billion, up 4% and 6% year over year respectively, while S-CHEM's revenue fell 44% and its operating result swung to a loss over the same period, a divergence between the two companies.
This is attributed to a decline in volume supplied to Duksan Neolux—S-CHEM's former second-tier supply route—as the company was directly integrated into a large domestic panel maker's supply chain.
The company said it aims to strengthen customer relationships and secure new clients by expanding sublimation-purification facilities and device evaluation equipment. At the same time, it is broadening its portfolio into semiconductor and bio/healthcare materials to reduce its reliance on the display industry cycle.
The company has set a long-term goal of KRW 100 billion in revenue by 2027, a figure requiring more than a fourfold increase from 2025's roughly KRW 22.1 billion. Near-term priorities toward that goal include upgrading the OLED materials recycling line, improving product mix, and entering new businesses.
From June 2025 through May 2026, the company invested roughly KRW 4 billion to automate and upgrade production facilities at its first plant, and it expects recycling-purification revenue growth from this upgrade to be reflected starting in the third quarter of 2026.
In September 2025, the company secured a site for a GMP-certified new plant, pursuing both capacity expansion and stronger quality-control systems.
Its new semiconductor materials business (key materials for spin-on hardmasks and wet-process additives) has completed pilot production and entered mass-production evaluation, with the company targeting volume shipments in the fourth quarter of 2026.
However, these new businesses have yet to make a substantial revenue contribution, and the actual timing and scale of any contribution will need to be confirmed through future quarterly disclosures.
The company has also outlined plans to bring in additional sublimation-purification equipment and a vacuum thin-film deposition system for device evaluation as part of its shift toward becoming an OLED materials OEM.
The stock tends to trade at a discount relative to the company's net asset value, a pattern that can be read as reflecting the mixed run of losses and profit reversals seen over the past few years.
With earnings swinging from a profit in 2024 to a loss in 2025, back to profit in the first quarter of 2026, and then to a loss again in the second quarter, quarter-to-quarter volatility has made conventional earnings-multiple metrics difficult to apply consistently.
The absence of any recent dividend payment is consistent with a small, early-stage growth stock that prioritizes capital allocation toward facility investment and new-business expansion over shareholder returns.
As a small-cap KOSDAQ stock with relatively limited average daily trading volume and value, price volatility also tends to run comparatively high.
Market participants appear focused on the timing and scale of actual revenue contribution from new businesses—semiconductor materials and expanded recycling revenue—as a key variable for any earnings recovery.
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 2026-09-05
In first-half 2026, common-layer material sales rose to 39.1% of revenue from 25.8% a year earlier, shifting the revenue mix toward relatively higher-value finished and purified products.
The company has continued to pursue a strategy of reducing intermediate sales in favor of finished and sublimation-purified products. If this mix improvement continues, there is room for margin structure improvement alongside any revenue recovery.
The semiconductor materials business (key spin-on hardmask materials and wet-process additives) has completed pilot production and entered mass-production evaluation, with volume shipments targeted for the fourth quarter.
The company also operates a bio and healthcare materials business, including IVD and life-science reagents, non-GMP pharmaceutical intermediates, and animal vitamins, moving toward a structure less reliant solely on the display cycle. If these new businesses proceed as planned, they could become a catalyst for revenue diversification.
The company's R&D spending ratio has been reported as above the industry average, and it has continued efforts to strengthen co-development partnerships with customers through the introduction of device evaluation equipment.
This is a strategy the company has cited as a way to secure new customers and build customer lock-in. Continued investment in facilities and R&D is a factor that could contribute to longer-term product competitiveness.
As of first-half 2025, 68.81% of revenue was concentrated in the top two customers, leaving the company vulnerable to earnings shocks from supply-chain restructuring.
This was illustrated when volume supplied to Duksan Neolux, its former second-tier supply route, declined as the company was directly integrated into a large domestic panel maker's supply chain, causing first-half 2025 revenue to fall 44%. A structure with high dependence on specific customers could generate similar volatility going forward.
After swinging from an annual profit in 2024 to an annual loss in 2025, the company posted a brief profit in the first quarter of 2026 before returning to a loss in the second quarter, a pattern of repeated quarterly earnings swings.
Cost factors such as R&D spending and inventory valuation losses have been shown to significantly sway profitability in specific quarters. This volatility makes it difficult to anticipate a stable earnings trajectory.
Chinese display makers' share of global small- and mid-size OLED shipments rose to 53.4% in the first quarter of 2025, up 8.5 percentage points from the prior quarter, while domestic panel makers' share fell to 46.6% over the same period.
A decline in domestic panel makers' share could shrink the demand base for the domestic value chain that supplies them with materials. This could act as a structural headwind for the company's core OLED materials revenue.
With the top two customers accounting for 68.81% of revenue, changes in a specific customer's ordering or supply-chain policy can have an immediate impact on results. A past instance in which volume to a former partner declined during a supply-chain transition has already been reflected in results. This risk may persist until customer diversification shows tangible progress.
The semiconductor materials business has completed pilot production but remains in mass-production evaluation, meaning additional verification is needed before it is actually reflected in production and revenue.
While a fourth-quarter volume shipment target has been set, the schedule could be adjusted depending on customer evaluation results or quality standards. Expected recycling revenue growth from the third quarter also needs to be confirmed through disclosures once actual results are reported.
2025 operating cash flow was negative KRW 971 million, and the company went through a pre-listing capital deficit in 2023. As a very small-cap KOSDAQ stock, liquidity may be limited, making the company sensitive to changes in financing conditions. If profitability recovery is delayed while new-business investment continues, financial burdens could increase.
Check third-quarter 2026 revenue and operating results to see which direction the recent alternating pattern—a profit in the first quarter and a loss in the second—continues.
Confirm whether the targeted mass-production volume shipments for the semiconductor materials business (including spin-on hardmask materials) actually occur and whether related revenue appears in disclosures.
Check whether recycling-purification revenue growth from the plant-1 automation and upgrade investment is reflected from the third quarter as the company expects.
Monitor for disclosures on the construction start and progress schedule of the GMP-certified new plant site.
Reassess the actual progress path and feasibility of the stated 2027 revenue target of KRW 100 billion through annual results and business plan disclosures.
S-CHEM is a specialist in synthesizing and purifying OLED organic materials within the supply chain of a large domestic display panel maker, and its earnings have shown high volatility—swinging from a profit in 2024 to a loss in 2025, then alternating between profit and loss on a quarterly basis into 2026.
A significant share of revenue is concentrated in its top two customers, and the company has already experienced a shock from supply-chain restructuring, meaning this concentration remains a risk factor going forward.
That said, an improving product mix toward higher-value materials such as common-layer products, expected growth in recycling-purification revenue, and the semiconductor materials business's entry into mass-production evaluation are cited as potential variables for an earnings recovery.
Industry-level shifts—rising market share for Chinese display makers alongside falling share for domestic panel makers—could weigh on the company's core OLED materials business.
The mid-term target of KRW 100 billion in revenue by 2027 requires a substantial leap from current levels, making the actual timing and scale of new-business revenue contribution a key variable to watch.
With no dividend and capital allocated first to facility investment and new-business expansion, the company shows characteristics typical of an early-stage small-cap growth stock. Continued monitoring of upcoming quarterly results and new-business progress is warranted before drawing further conclusions.
This report is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell.
Report written 2026-09-05 · Data as of 2026-09-04
This content is AI analysis of market data and web search results, provided for information only. It is not a solicitation or recommendation to invest. Investment decisions and their consequences are the investor's own responsibility. Data may be delayed or contain errors.