[Edaily Reporter JAEMIN SONG ] A single customer, believed to be Apple, accounted for more than 80% of LG Innotek’s revenue in the first half of this year. Amid rising capacity utilization rates for camera modules and semiconductor substrates, research and development (R&D) expenses for future business initiatives also exceeded 400 billion won on a half-year basis.

According to LG Innotek’s semi-annual report released on the 14th, revenue from a single customer—which accounted for more than 10% of first-half revenue this year—totaled 8.8415 trillion won. This represents a 27.6% increase from the 6.9313 trillion won recorded in the first half of last year. Although the report did not disclose the customer’s identity, industry sources believe it to be Apple.

This customer accounted for 77.9% of total revenue. The top 10 customers by revenue also accounted for 86% of total revenue. While overall performance improved significantly as the scale of transactions with Apple—centered on optical solutions—grew, the high dependence on a specific customer and product line remains a challenge.

LG Innotek’s consolidated revenue for the first half of the year was 11.062 trillion won, a 24.1% increase from the same period last year. Operating profit reached 541.1 billion won, approximately four times the 136.5 billion won recorded in the first half of last year.

The improvement in performance was driven by the optical solutions business. First-half revenue from the optical solutions business totaled 9.1285 trillion won, accounting for 82.5% of total revenue. Operating profit was 409.9 billion won. LG Innotek explained that strong sales by major customers and the expanded adoption of high-specification camera modules boosted the performance of the optical solutions business.

Production facility utilization rates also rose in line with growing demand. The average utilization rate for camera module production facilities in Gumi, China, and Vietnam during the first half of the year was 85.2%, up 3.5 percentage points from last year’s annual rate of 81.7%. Camera module production for the first half totaled 241.74 million units.

The utilization rate at the Gumi semiconductor substrate production facility jumped 13.2 percentage points from 80.8% for the full year last year to 94.0% in the first half of this year. The photomask production facility also recorded a utilization rate of 94.4%. Utilization rates were 66.7% for tape substrates, 61.5% for motors and sensors, and 72.7% for automotive communications.

The company also expanded its investments in future businesses. Research and development (R&D) expenses for the first half totaled 407.3 billion won, accounting for 3.7% of revenue. This represents a 0.2 percentage point increase from last year’s annual R&D expense ratio of 3.5%. The company is developing technologies in optics, substrates and materials, and automotive components, as well as in robotics, mobility, and artificial intelligence (AI).

Moon Hyuk-soo, President and CEO of LG Innotek, received a total of 1.297 billion won in the first half, including a base salary of 726 million won and a bonus of 562 million won. The company stated that the bonus calculation reflected last year’s revenue growth, the strengthening of competitiveness in optical solutions, the cultivation of the semiconductor substrate business, and the enhancement of competitiveness in automotive components.