Seoul Semiconductor Announces First Quarter Results, Share Buyback

Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd. (KOSDAQ 046890), a market leader in LED (light emitting diode) design and manufacturing, today announced consolidated first-quarter revenues of KRW 257.5 billion. The rise in consolidated revenue came from strong sales in general lighting and strength across all segments within the IT division. The rise in automotive lighting sales also proved highly profitable for the company.

For the lighting division, technologies such as Wicop and Acrich were the drivers behind increasing sales while newly launched products such as filament LEDs and COB (Chip On Board) products further boosted revenue growth. In addition, automotive exterior lamps such as daytime running lights and headlights continued their fast-paced growth.

For the IT division, current customers expanding their product line-ups and new customer acquisitions were the main drivers of rising sales figures. As a result, overall revenues for the company increased significantly despite the weak seasonality normally seen during this time of year. In particular, the mobile and TV segments within the IT division saw noticeable growth leading to better than expected sales and profitability.

To improve share price stability and increase shareholder value, Seoul Semiconductor announced a KRW 10 billion share buyback to be executed within the next six months through Mirae Asset Daewoo Securities.

The company has been pursuing legal action and sending strong warnings to companies that infringe on its patent rights. On March 31, 2017, Seoul Semiconductor filed a patent infringement lawsuit in Germany in the District Court of Düsseldorf against a global electronic components distributor involving an LED product manufactured by Everlight which allegedly infringes on Seoul Semiconductor LED patents. In addition, notices have been sent to companies in the industry who have copied the company’s unique Wicop technology under the name CSP (chip scale package). Wicop is an LED technology in which the chip adheres directly on the substrate without requiring the use of packages.

Company outlook
The company provided revenue guidance of KRW 250 to 270 billion for the upcoming quarter. The company plans to further strengthen its sales and marketing activities for its unique technologies including Acrich and Wicop and focus on acquiring more customers to reach new heights with respect to earnings.

About Seoul Semiconductor:
Seoul Semiconductor develops and commercializes light emitting diodes (LEDs) for automotive, general illumination, specialty lighting, and backlighting markets. As the fifth-largest LED manufacturer globally, Seoul Semiconductor holds more than 12,000 patents, offers a wide range of technologies, and mass produces innovative LED products such as Wicop - a simpler structured Package-Free LED which provides market leading colour uniformity, cost savings at the fixture level with high lumen density and allows design flexibility; Acrich, the world's leading direct AC LED; Acrich MJT multi-junction technology; a proprietary family of high-voltage LEDs; and nPola, a new LED product based on GaN-substrate technology that achieves over ten times the output of conventional LEDs.

# Trademarks

Wicop and Acrich are trademarks of Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd.

Investor information and additional product details are available on the company website, www.seoulsemiconductor.com.

Forward Looking Statements:
This press release material contains forward-looking statements which reflect Seoul Semiconductor’s current views with respect to future events and financial performance, and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. Although Seoul Semiconductor believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be attained. Seoul Semiconductor undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. All financial numbers are consolidated figures unless stated otherwise.

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Contact information

Seoul Semiconductor Europe GmbH
Ariane Heim
Tel: +49 (0)89-450-3690-0
Email: press.eu@seoulsemicon.com