South Korean semiconductor equipment leader Hanmi Semiconductor delivered a devastating first-quarter 2026 earnings report. According to the company's May 15 announcement, consolidated revenue for the quarter came to KRW 50.9 billion, while operating profit plummeted to merely KRW 8.45 billion—representing year-on-year declines of 65.5% and 87.9%, respectively. Net profit stood at KRW 19 billion, down 65.2% from the prior year. This marks Hanmi's third consecutive quarter of sharp profit contraction.

TC Bonder Orders Dry Up

The primary driver behind the earnings collapse was a cliff-like drop in semiconductor equipment sales, the company's core business. Equipment revenue for Q1 totaled just KRW 33.4 billion, crashing 74.3% year-on-year and accounting for 65.6% of total sales. The company's flagship product—thermal compression (TC) bonding equipment used in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) manufacturing—saw orders slow dramatically. Its key customers, SK Hynix and Micron Technology, have largely completed their TC bonder investments for fifth-generation HBM3E production lines, leaving new orders virtually exhausted. Although Hanmi secured a KRW 9.6 billion TC bonder order from SK Hynix in January, no additional equipment contracts have been secured since.

Intensifying Competition

The competitive landscape is also deteriorating. Singapore-based ASMPT and South Korea's Hanwha Semitech have both penetrated SK Hynix's supply chain, diverting market share from Hanmi's traditional stronghold. Notably, Hanmi is currently engaged in patent litigation with Hanwha. Meanwhile, the company's fixed costs remain stubbornly rigid. Combined selling, general, and administrative expenses plus R&D spending reached approximately KRW 19.1 billion in Q1, causing their ratio to revenue to surge from 15.4% in the year-ago period to 37.5%, severely eroding profit margins.

Strategic Response

Confronting this predicament, Hanmi Semiconductor is actively pursuing asset liquidation and next-generation equipment development. On May 13, the company decided to liquidate its underperforming Vietnam subsidiary and divest its stake in HPSP to recover capital. On the technology front, Hanmi plans to launch a wide-temperature-control bonder targeting 20+ layer HBM5/HBM6 in the second half of the year, while also unveiling a prototype of its second-generation hybrid bonder—jointly developed with TES—within the year. Additionally, the company is pushing forward with a KRW 100 billion-plus hybrid bonder production base in Incheon, slated for completion in November.

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