Seoul Semiconductor Says 12% Decline in Revenue for the First Time in 2011

South Korean LED maker Seoul Semiconductor was affected by the global economic downturn. Not only did its performance in the second half of 2011 worse than in the first half of the year, but it also significantly revised down its 2011 revenue estimate to 735 billion won (about US$635 million). After the revenue reduction of 12% compared with 2010, for the first time since the company's founding recession.

From the perspective of product category, Seoul Semiconductor’s 2011 sales revenue forecast is the largest under LED TV backlighting, accounting for 72% of the total under-repair, while lighting applications still maintain a forecast value of over 300 billion won. . In the future, the development trend of the above two types of products will be that the LED TV backlight package components will be mainly used to increase the light emission angle and increase the brightness to reduce the number of LEDs used to 30 to 40; in lighting applications, the LED power factor is emphasized. Above 0.95, it can save one-sixth of energy compared with general LED.

In addition to strengthening its own product functions, Seoul Semiconductor has also expanded toward the upstream and downstream industries. Taking Seoul Opto Device, an upstream LED chip manufacturer within the group, as an example, the proportion of internalization has increased from 3% in 2010 to 60% in 2011. In the down stream, there are 1,500 lighting application customers in 50 countries, and LED backlighting customers also include major players in South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and the mainland. From the above, we can see that the company maintains its industrial competitiveness through a “diversified” business model.

1Q'10~3Q'11 Seoul Semiconductor Revenue, Operating Benefits and Net Profit Changes