Samsung resumes semiconductor and memory plant investments

Semes, a key Samsung Electronics semiconductor equipment supplier has had a very successful first quarter, and this was in no small part thanks to Samsung’s apparent decision to resume investments into its semiconductor/memory chip manufacturing plants. Semes’ filings to the Financial Supervisory Service strongly suggest that Samsung is back on track to investing in the semiconductor business following the global memory market slowdown over the last few quarters.

Samsung acquired new equipment for its Xi’an and Pyeongtaek plants

Semes recorded a semiconductor equipment sales increase of 205% in Q1 2020 compared to a year ago, and this has helped the company return to black, according to The Elec. More importantly, Samsung appears to have played a big role in the supplier’s newfound success, as new equipment supplied to Samsung’s semiconductor plants in Xi’an, China, and Pyeongtaek, South Korea, have led to this positive outcome.

78.6% of Semes’ Q1 revenue (or 420.1 billion won) was covered by its sales of semiconductor equipment. Meanwhile, 371.5 billion won out of the 420.1 billion won total came from Samsung Electronics alone, while the rest came from clients in China. Semes also expects to boosts revenues even further as Samsung will be needing new equipment for its Quantum Dot Display line.

Its display business aside, Samsung is seemingly preparing to ramp up its semiconductor and memory chip investments after the global downturn. This should help the company maintain its leading position in the memory chip market. Likewise, Samsung’s equipment suppliers are bound to benefit from this, as they are highly dependant on Samsung’s success.