JASTech to start new diagnosis kit business 

Display equipment maker JASTech said on Tuesday that it will start a new business for diagnosis kits.

The new business is aimed at a post-pandemic era, the company said, as it expected demand for diagnosis kit to grow due to the increased interest in health.

JASTech currently relies heavily on display equipment for revenue. It supplies bonders to Samsung Display that are used in OLED production.

In 2017, when Samsung Display increased its spending on its A3 factory, JASTech recorded 570.8 billion won in sales. However, as the Korean display firm lowered its spending on facilities, JASTech saw its average annual sales for the three following years to be around 120 billion won.

In 2020, the company recorded 114.4 billion won in sales and 10.2 billion won in operating loss. Display equipment accounted for 85.8 billion won of sales. 

JASTech CEO Chung Jae-song said the COVID-19 pandemic has caused customers to spend less on facilities. Spending by customers for OLED equipment and laser kits were postponed which caused sales to remain flat, Chung said.

The company also said dividends will be 50 won per share. Chung said this is level to that of 2019 and stressed that despite its loss last year, there was no problem with the company’s management.

JASTech last year moved its headquarters from Incheon to Asan. The CEO said facilities at Incheon were combined with those of Asan. This will increase efficiency. Remaining facilities in Incheon will be sold next month, he added.

The company previous conducted research in semiconductor and laser equipment at Incheon. Asan focused on display equipment. All these work will now be done at Asan.

JASTech’s sales this year is to be affected by whether Samsung Display spends more on its OLED facilities. As of last month, the company had 24 billion won remaining orders in total. This is 4.6 billion won more than its remaining order of 19.4 billion won at the end of 2019.