Semiconductor design corporations FADU posted a record-high revenue last year. The company said results will improve even more this year as the artificial intelligence (AI) market gains momentum.
FADU said on the 12th that its full-year revenue came to 92.41933 billion won last year. That was up 112.4% from a year earlier. Operating loss for the period was 61.74681 billion won. The deficit also narrowed 35.0% from the previous year (95.04830 billion won), marking an improvement in results.
FADU cited the full-scale mass production of its fifth-generation (Gen5) products as the driver of the turnaround. The company said, "Overcoming the sluggish conditions in 2024, when we relied on fourth-generation (Gen4) products, starting in 2025 we began supplying high-performance products to AI data center operating corporations, putting growth in results into full swing," and added, "Driven by the steep expansion of the enterprise (e) solid-state drive (SSD) market for AI data centers, we will accelerate growth again this year." The company also noted, "This year's annual revenue growth rate is expected to surpass last year's."
FADU added several global hyperscaler companies to its customer base early this year. ▲ On Jan. 13, it signed a 20.3 billion won contract to supply controllers ▲ On Jan. 22, it signed a 47.0 billion won contract to supply SSD finished goods ▲ On Feb. 5, it won a 30.5 billion won order for SSD finished goods, among other achievements. The orders booked so far this year already exceed last year's total annual revenue.
FADU's main products are SSD finished goods and SSD controllers. About 70% of last year's annual revenue came from controllers, which are more profitable than finished goods. The figure was 55% in 2024. The absence of additional development expense for sixth-generation (Gen6) products is also cited as a positive for this year's results. The company said the 11.0 billion won executed in the fourth quarter of last year was the "final development cost."
A FADU official said, "As we prove our in-house technology, both revenue and profitability have entered a phase of structural growth," adding, "The sixth-generation product, which we completed after two years of development, is scheduled to launch soon." The official said, "We expect profitability to improve because the structure allows revenue growth without an increase in SG&A."