"Unrivaled Technology"... Rino Gong-Op, Suddenly Ranked 15th in Market Capitalization

[Asia Economy Reporter Koh Hyung-kwang] The value of Lino Industrial, a KOSDAQ semiconductor equipment stock, is soaring. Despite the domestic stock market being stuck in a box range due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lino Industrial's stock price has drawn an upward curve and has risen to 15th place in the KOSDAQ market capitalization ranking. This is interpreted as a result of steady performance improvement based on its outstanding technological capabilities.

According to the Korea Exchange on the 29th, Lino Industrial closed at 91,600 KRW on the KOSDAQ market the previous day, up 2.8% from the previous trading day. This is the first time Lino Industrial's stock price has entered the 90,000 KRW range. Following an 8.0% increase on the 27th, surpassing the year's highest price of 88,000 KRW recorded on February 17, it set a new high again in just one day. Lino Industrial's stock price has risen 42.4% this year alone, and compared to last year's lowest price of 47,900 KRW (August 6), it has increased by 91.2%.

Based on the closing price the previous day, the market capitalization was 1.3962 trillion KRW, ranking 15th in KOSDAQ. At the beginning of this year, it was in the 30th place range, but as the stock price steadily rose, it entered the top 20 last month and recently has been fluctuating in the mid-top 10 range. Foreign investors' love calls are also continuing. Since entering the 10% range in October 2013, it rose to the 20% range in April 2014, the 30% range in September 2017, and recorded 39.3% the previous day, approaching the 40% range.

The reason why Lino Industrial's stock price is drawing an upward curve even amid the COVID-19 situation is analyzed to be due to steady performance improvement based on its outstanding technological capabilities. Lino Industrial develops and sells Linopin, a consumable part necessary for semiconductor production processes, and test sockets. These products were entirely dependent on imports, but Lino Industrial succeeded in localization, which became the driving force for performance improvement.

Lino Industrial's operating profit over the past five years has been 36 billion KRW, 39.3 billion KRW, 49.2 billion KRW, 57.5 billion KRW, and 64.1 billion KRW, respectively, showing an increasing trend of 10-20% annually. Maintaining an operating profit margin in the mid-30% range every year since 2010 has also been highly evaluated in the market. Last year's operating profit margin reached 38%, the highest level ever.

Daishin Securities estimates Lino Industrial's sales this year at 207 billion KRW and operating profit at 77 billion KRW. Both figures represent an increase of more than 20% compared to last year. Soo-bin Lee, a researcher at Daishin Securities, said, "Semiconductor-related companies tend to have volatile performance depending on the business conditions, but Lino Industrial's performance is steadily improving," adding, "This year, the sockets testing AP semiconductors and modem chips installed in mobile devices, which are the main products, are expected to perform well."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.