DB HiTek Posts 90 Billion Won Q3 Operating Profit on Power Chip Demand

DB HiTek reported third-quarter revenue of 403.4 billion won ($295 million) and operating profit of 90 billion won, up 14% and 7% year on year respectively, the Korean foundry disclosed on November 12. The operating margin came in at 22%.

For the first three quarters of the year, cumulative revenue reached 1.1774 trillion won with operating profit of 262.2 billion won, up 19% and 24% against the same period a year earlier. The figures confirm that power semiconductors (chips that manage voltage conversion and power flow in vehicles, factories and data centers) remain one of the most resilient demand pools in the analog foundry market.

What drove the numbers?

The company held fab utilization at effectively 100% through the quarter, according to its own reading of the results. Two shifts did the heavy lifting. First, the sales mix moved further toward high-voltage BCD products (bipolar-CMOS-DMOS power management chips used in automotive and industrial systems), lifting average selling prices. Second, demand broadened beyond the core automotive and industrial base into AI data centers and robotics, both higher-value applications.

DB HiTek is deliberately building its portfolio around three high-margin product lines: HV BCD, third-generation SJ MOSFETs (super-junction transistors for efficient power conversion), and specialty CMOS image sensors. Management's stated strategy is to deepen its 8-inch foundry business and position itself as a key supplier of semiconductors for the AI era, with AI data centers and electric vehicles named as the priority growth segments.

The capacity question

Foundries quoting multi-year growth without wafer capacity are making promises, not plans. DB HiTek is putting capital behind its targets. It recently completed a cleanroom at its Sangwoo campus in Eumseong County, North Chungcheong Province — the physical prerequisite for expansion, with no tool investment yet committed at scale.

On that foundation, the company plans medium- and long-term investment to add 40,000 wafers per month of capacity. That would take its next-generation power semiconductor lines beyond 100,000 wafers per month. A company official framed the pace as deliberate: "We will consider customer acquisition, technology development trends and investment capacity comprehensively, expanding production capacity in phases and building a stronger medium- to long-term growth foundation."

Note the distinction. The cleanroom completion is done; the 40,000-wafer addition is a stated intention tied to future demand signals, not a funded ramp with a start date.

What does this change for buyers and rivals?

For automotive and industrial chip designers dependent on 8-inch analog capacity, DB HiTek's full utilization and mix shift toward HV BCD mean tighter allocation on standard power products — the pricing pressure already shows in rising average selling prices. For competing specialty foundries, the Eumseong buildout signals a capacity race forming around next-generation power semiconductors precisely as AI data center power delivery becomes the demand wildcard.

DB HiTek will brief domestic institutional investors at its Q3 earnings presentation, running November 12–13. Watch for two signals: whether management converts the Sangwoo cleanroom into tool orders, and how quickly the AI data center demand it cites translates into committed wafer starts rather than design-win pipeline.