DEEP RESEARCH · BH/4Q25 RESULTS & FPCB

BH 2025 Fourth-Quarter Preliminary Results Analysis

A review of profitability turnaround, capital redeployment, and the foldable, IT OLED, automotive, and robot-charging order cycle

Date: 2026-02-21 · Earnings, shareholder structure, and new-order pipeline analysis · Naver Blog

0. Bottom line first

I see three key points. First, the high-value product mix centered on iPhone 17 Pro Max and Korean OLED panel share near 98% lifted FPCB volume. Second, the company secured about KRW 56.7 billion in growth capital without new-share dilution through EB, PRS, and treasury-stock cancellation in 3Q25. Third, 2026 brings a new order cycle across foldable iPhone, IT OLED, robot wireless charging, and BMS FPCB.

1. 4Q25 results: from operating loss to profit

Official fact: Preliminary 4Q25 consolidated revenue was KRW 562.466 billion, up 4.1% from KRW 487.879 billion a year earlier. Operating profit was KRW 28.822 billion, turning around from an operating loss of KRW 5.293 billion in 4Q24.

Full-year 2025 cumulative revenue was KRW 1.79266 trillion, up 2.2% from KRW 1.754442 trillion in 2024. Full-year operating profit was KRW 53.978 billion, down 38.0% from KRW 87.053 billion. The source attributes annual profit pressure to equipment investment and depreciation for the IT OLED lineup during the first half of 2025.

2. Structural reasons for the earnings rebound

Interpretation: The quarter matters because core competitiveness recovered. Recording large operating profit despite IT OLED losses shows that high-value mobile FPCB and automotive earnings can absorb 2026 upfront investment costs.

3. Shareholders and capital redeployment

Official fact: In February 2026, Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc newly crossed the 5% ownership threshold in BH. With February 11, 2026 as the reporting-trigger date, it disclosed on February 20 that it held 1,906,186 shares, or 5.65%, for simple investment purposes.

Morgan Stanley moved from 1,562,126 shares, about 4.63%, then bought 312,866 shares and sold 9,088 shares on February 11, reaching 1,865,904 shares and crossing the 5% reporting threshold. Further trading from February 12 to 19 finalized the holding at 1,906,186 shares. The largest shareholder group, including Chairman Lee Kyung-hwan and related parties, holds 7,317,145 shares and 21.71%, maintaining stable control.

Interpretation: BH secured about KRW 56.7 billion in growth capital through EB and PRS while offsetting dilution concerns with treasury-share cancellation. I view this as pre-funding for 2026 foldable, IT OLED, and automotive opportunities.

4. Subsidiaries and global automotive expansion

BH is an independent listed company without a controlling parent company. The number of consolidated subsidiaries rose from seven at the beginning of 3Q25 to eight at quarter-end, all unlisted, with three major subsidiaries.

Official fact: BH EVS Europe GmbH was newly included in consolidation during 3Q25. It is a European sales entity established with 100% investment from BH EVS, targeting regions such as Germany. It is intended as a forward base to serve OEMs such as Volvo, Renault, Land Rover, Skoda, and Mercedes-Benz.

Official fact: BH EVS is an automotive electronics subsidiary established in October 2022 when BH acquired LG Electronics' vehicle wireless charging business from the VS division for KRW 136.7 billion. It recorded an operating loss of KRW 7.3 billion in 2023, then turned around to KRW 348.9 billion in revenue and KRW 32.4 billion in operating profit in 2024.

The source says BH EVS has a 30% share of the in-vehicle smartphone wireless charger market and is global No. 1. As of late 2025, BH owned about 41% to 49% of BH EVS, while second-largest shareholder DKT held 36.1%, creating SMT module assembly cost and quality synergies.

5. Customer diversification and 2026 new-order pipeline

BH's traditional revenue was concentrated in FPCB attached to smartphone OLED panels. Since 2025, the end-market and customer ecosystem has expanded across mobile, IT devices such as tablets and notebooks, automotive electronics, and robotics.

Foldable iPhone FPCB

Apple's first foldable smartphone, expected in the second half of 2026, is presented as the biggest growth engine. Foldable display FPCB must handle hinge durability and complex signal processing, so board layer count and specifications rise versus bar-type smartphones, and the supply ASP is said to be about 2.5 times higher.

Official fact: The source says BH is likely to secure Samsung Display's foldable iPhone FPCB volume at a near-exclusive level. Foldable iPhone FPCB shipments are estimated at 8.5 million units in 2026 and 21.9 million units in 2027. Assuming 100% internal-display share and 50% external-display share, the source forecasts KRW 220.0 billion in new 2026 revenue and KRW 556.0 billion in 2027 from foldable alone.

IT OLED substrates

Apple is described as planning to release OLED iPad mini and OLED MacBook Pro models in 2026. Tablet and notebook OLED substrates have much larger area than smartphone substrates, so revenue contribution per device is higher. BH is said to have sole-sourced IT OLED FPCB volume for iPad mini and to begin mass production from late 2Q26.

The source expects 2026 orders of 5 million iPads and 2 million MacBooks to support KRW 59.2 billion in IT OLED-related revenue, allowing the business to pass breakeven and enter an earnings-leverage phase.

Robot wireless charging and BMS FPCB

BH EVS unveiled an autonomous-robot charger at CES 2026. The vertical charging station has a confirmed supply contract with a major Korean company and enters mass production in 1H26; the horizontal model has also been awarded for a next-generation robot to be released the following year, according to the source.

The robot charger has automotive-level reliability testing, more than 5,000 contact durability cycles, and 1kW output, with plans to raise specifications above 1.7kW according to customer requirements. BMS FPCB connects to the automotive trend of replacing heavy copper wire harnesses with thin, light FPCB. BH EVS plans to begin BMS FPCB mass production for major OEMs and new customers from late 2026 and expand applications to ESS. EV wireless charging targets commercialization in 4Q27 and is in vehicle evaluation.

6. Competitive environment: BH and Interflex

The FPCB industry is a capital-intensive equipment industry and also a technology- and labor-intensive industry requiring fine-pitch control, skilled processes, and quality certification. Becoming a vendor for top-tier customers such as Apple requires proof of strict quality and yield stabilization.

Official fact: The source says Korean FPCB competitors include BH, Interflex, Young Poong Electronics, SI-Flex, and Newflex, with BH holding the No. 1 position at 51% market share. In high-function, high-density build-up and RF PCB, BH also competes with Taiwanese players such as ZDT and Flexium.

Interflex participated twice, in June and November 2025, in capital increases for parent Korea Circuit's Vietnam entity, KOREA CIRCUIT VINA, investing a total of KRW 39.0 billion and raising its stake to 83.58%. The strategy is to reduce geopolitical risk from the Tianjin, China plant, consolidate Vietnam production under the China Plus One trend, share Korea Circuit's HDI infrastructure, resume Apple component orders, and pre-expand automotive FPCB and ADAS lines.

Interpretation: Competition will intensify, but BH already has a front-end process line at BH Flex VINA and has secured logistics, labor-cost efficiency, and maximum-CAPA operating experience. I believe BH retains a cost and yield-stability advantage even as share competition increases in foldable and automotive markets after 2026.

7. Final take

BH's 4Q25 preliminary results indicate that high-value FPCB and automotive electronics have crossed an earnings threshold. The combined EB, PRS, and treasury-share cancellation strategy was a financial move to prepare for the 2026 mega order cycle while defending existing shareholders from dilution.

In 2026, foldable iPhone, OLED iPad mini and MacBook, robot wireless charging, and BMS FPCB all become major catalysts. The checkpoints I would watch are actual foldable iPhone shipments, IT OLED breakeven, BH EVS expansion with Europe, Tesla, and robot customers, and market-share changes after Interflex's Vietnam expansion.