South Korea's 8-inch foundry operator said revenue rose 23% and margin reached 25% as demand strengthened across AI data centers, autos, industrial uses and robotics.
DB HiTek reported a sharp rise in second-quarter earnings as demand increased for power semiconductors used in AI data centers, automobiles and industrial applications. In a regulatory filing on August 5, the company posted preliminary consolidated revenue of ₩414.5 billion, or about $290.9 million, and operating profit of ₩105.2 billion, or about $73.8 million. That marked a 23% increase in revenue and a 43% jump in operating profit from a year earlier, while sequentially revenue rose 10.7% and operating profit climbed 65.1% from the first quarter. Operating margin reached 25%, up from 22% a year earlier and 17% in the prior quarter. The performance was driven mainly by improved profitability in DB HiTek's core 8-inch (200mm) foundry business, where the company said demand has been rising not only for automotive and industrial power semiconductors but also from higher-value emerging applications including AI data centers and robotics. While 8-inch foundry processes are more mature than the 12-inch (300mm) technology used by TSMC and Samsung Electronics, they remain cost-competitive for power semiconductor manufacturing, and the company said demand is rising alongside the broader AI chip buildout. DB HiTek is advancing its existing processes and expanding into next-generation products, including a high-voltage BCD (combining analog, digital and power devices on one chip) process aimed at AI data centers and electric vehicles, as well as compound power semiconductors such as silicon carbide and gallium nitride. The company said capacity expansion is proceeding as planned and that it intends to raise output with a focus on higher-margin power semiconductors.