DB HiTek Q3 operating profit rises 7% on power-chip demand

DB HiTek (000990) reported third-quarter 2026 operating profit of 90 billion won ($61 million), up 7% from a year earlier, as stronger power-semiconductor orders pushed factory utilization to virtually 100%.

Consolidated revenue reached 403.4 billion won ($275 million), up 14% year on year. Operating margin was 22%. DB HiTek disclosed the results in a regulatory filing on the 12th.

For the first three quarters, revenue totaled 1.1774 trillion won and operating profit reached 262.2 billion won. Revenue increased 19% from the same period a year earlier; operating profit rose 24%.

Those nine-month figures also imply an operating margin of about 22%, matching the quarterly rate after rounding. Both aggregate measures improved from their year-earlier levels.

The quarter paired faster revenue growth with a smaller increase in operating profit. Over nine months, operating-profit growth exceeded revenue growth by five percentage points.

A DB HiTek official said: "We plan to expand capacity in stages, taking into account customer acquisition, technology development trends and investment capacity, to build a stronger foundation for medium- and long-term growth."

Power semiconductors, the company’s mainstay product, drove the improvement. Steady demand kept factory utilization at virtually 100%, leaving existing plants with little unused capacity.

A larger revenue share from high-voltage power chips (HV BCD), a higher-margin product, also raised the average selling price. The mix shifted toward higher-value output.

Demand for power semiconductors strengthened in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and robotics, alongside automotive and industrial applications.

DB HiTek is strengthening its lineup around high-voltage power semiconductors, third-generation super-junction MOSFETs (metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors) and specialty image sensors. It is also moving its 8-inch foundry (contract chip-manufacturing operation) toward higher-value products.

The company targets markets it describes as fast-growing, including AI data centers and electric vehicles (EVs). It plans to expand high-value chip supply to those sectors while accelerating capacity expansion.

The product plan and capacity plan run in parallel: DB HiTek is shifting its fabrication mix while adding monthly wafer capacity.

What does the capacity plan change for chip supply?

The medium- and long-term program has two stated capacity targets:

• An additional 40,000 wafers per month of capacity through investment.
• A next-generation power-semiconductor line expanded to more than 100,000 wafers per month.

DB HiTek recently completed a cleanroom at its Sangwoo Campus in Eumseong County, North Chungcheong Province. The site forms part of the wider effort to raise output of higher-value power products.

That project is already complete, while the larger wafer targets remain plans tied to ongoing investment.

For chip buyers, the practical change is a larger planned supply base, with the next-generation power line positioned above 100,000 wafers per month. The pace remains conditional.

DB HiTek will expand in stages, taking account of customer acquisition, technology-development trends and investment capacity. Customers should therefore read the capacity figures as a staged medium- and long-term target rather than an immediate supply schedule.

Existing factories, already at virtually 100% utilization, have almost no room to absorb additional volume without added capacity. The product strategy also calls for more high-voltage devices, super-junction MOSFETs and image sensors.

DB HiTek will hold an investor relations briefing on its third-quarter 2026 results for domestic institutional investors on the 12th and 13th.