[Digital Daily Reporter Baek Ji-young] The performance of the domestic telecommunication equipment industry, which had slowed somewhat due to the delay in 5G investment due to Corona 19, rebounded last year. This is because overseas exports accelerated as investment in 5G infrastructure in overseas markets such as North America and Europe began in earnest this year. However, there were large differences between companies. KMW, Dasan Network, KMW, and Innowireless recorded operating losses, while Ubiquis, Seojin System, Solid, HFR, and Coweaver recorded good results due to increased sales in the North American and Japanese markets. First of all, Dasan Networks, which supplies FTTH optical transmission equipment and Ethernet switches, recorded 469 billion won in sales last year, up 15.8% from the previous year, but recorded an operating loss of 31.4 billion won, resulting in a larger loss. In this regard, the company said, ��The business grew year-on-year due to increased investment in telecommunication infrastructure in the US. Operating loss and net loss expanded due to one-off expenses such as other factors,�� he explained. Ace Tech, which specializes in communication equipment such as antennas and RF filters, also recorded an operating loss of 34.8 billion won, although sales increased 10.4% from the previous year to 232.8 billion won on a consolidated basis. The deficit decreased by 43% compared to the previous year. 5G investment was delayed due to the corona virus, but the company said that its operating loss was significantly reduced due to increased sales and improved cost structure. KMW, which sells RF switches and modules for telecommunication repeaters and base stations, turned to the red with a consolidated sales of 205.2 billion won and an operating loss of 27.9 billion won, down 39.4% from the previous year, due to sluggish performance due to a decrease in 5G investment. OE Solutions, which supplies optical transceivers (transmitting and receiving modules), also recorded 98.7 billion won in consolidated sales last year, down 4.4% from the previous year, and 2.2 billion won in operating profit, down 70%, due to delays in global 5G investment due to the COVID-19 situation. Innowireless, which manufactures mobile communication test and measurement equipment, also recorded sales of 90.7 billion won, down 2.5% from the previous year, and operating profit of 13.4 billion won, down 2.7 from the previous year. On the other hand, Seojin System, which sells base station equipment such as small base station (RRH) and DU (digital unit), posted sales of 606.1 billion won, up 88.3% from the previous year. Operating profit also increased by 1082% to 58 billion won. The company said, “The increase in sales from the full-fledged operation of production bases of overseas subsidiaries, sales expansion of existing businesses and increase in sales to new customers, foreign currency translation gains and losses and foreign exchange gains and losses due to exchange rate fluctuations were reflected,” the company said. Solid, a manufacturer of optical repeaters for mobile communications, also recorded sales of 213.6 billion won, up 24% from the previous year. The operating profit also recorded 6 billion won, and the company succeeded in turning to the black. The increase in sales in North America and Japan, expansion of sales due to entry into the European market, and reduction of fixed cost per unit due to increase in sales helped improve earnings. HFR, which supplies wireless access RF equipment and transmission equipment, recorded sales of KRW 204.9 billion, up 123% from the previous year, and turned to black with an operating profit of KRW 21.5 billion. About 110 billion won, or half of last years sales, came from overseas exports. After being selected as a 5G fronthaul supplier for Verizon and ATT in the US in 2020, HFR signed a supply contract with Fujitsu in November last year. Recently, it has signed a local 5G solution distributor contract with NESIC, a subsidiary of Japans NEC (Nippon Electric Corporation) group. Ubiquis, a broadband network equipment supplier, also saw significant increases in both sales and operating profit. Last year, consolidated sales were 151 billion won, 24.4%, and operating profit was 32.9 billion won, up 52.2% from the previous year. It is analyzed that this is attributable to the increase in sales, such as the early conversion of LG U+ HFC (mixed optical fiber) network 10 gigabytes to FTTH and the delivery of PoE switches to the school wireless network business. RFHIC, a manufacturer of portable wireless communication equipment, announced that last years operating profit on a consolidated basis was 4.3 billion won, turning to the black compared to the previous year. Sales and net profit last year were 101.1 billion won and 5.8 billion won, respectively, up 43.4% and 267.4% from the previous year. The company said that its main business divisions sales expanded and profits increased. In addition, Coweaver, an optical transmission equipment company, recorded sales of KRW 85.7 billion, a 5.9% increase from the previous year, due to the launch of the newly developed product market, and its operating profit increased by 77.2% to KRW 5.7 billion. Koweaver developed quantum encryption equipment with KT last year. Woorinet also turned to the black, recording KRW 60.4 billion in sales and KRW 2.4 billion in operating profit, up 15.4%. Kim Hong-shik, an analyst at Hana Investment & Securities, made a rosy outlook in a recent report, saying, ��Under the Yoon Seok-yeol administration that declared a digital platform government, the telecommunication industry, which is the infrastructure of the AI/big data industry, is gaining strength, and the telecommunication/network sector is expected to benefit greatly.�� come. In particular, in the case of overseas markets, it is expected that the opening of the 5G market in the US will contribute to the earnings surprise of domestic network equipment makers, such as the US DC Network announcing the commercialization of 5G service in July. Verizon in the US is also expected to accelerate the securing of coverage by launching mid-band services, such as announcing plans to provide 5G services to 175 million people in 46 US regions by the end of the year.
