Optonics wins Kosdaq preliminary listing approval, targets year-end IPO

Optonics, a precision sensor optics company, said Wednesday it received preliminary approval from Korea Exchange for a Kosdaq listing. The company plans to launch its initial public offering process with lead underwriter Korea Investment & Securities, targeting a listing before year-end.

Optonics develops and manufactures gyroscope optical components — a core element of inertial navigation systems (INS) that detect rotational speed to precisely measure position and orientation.

The company is the only domestic manufacturer capable of simultaneously mass-producing both ring laser gyroscope (RLG) and fiber optic gyroscope (FOG) components for INS applications. By internalizing key process technologies — including ultra-precision low-speed polishing and PPM-level loss-control optical coatings — Optonics has built high barriers to entry in the defense optics market, securing top-tier weapons system makers, including guided-munitions manufacturers, as its primary customers.

The company's optical components are integrated into laser inertial navigation systems and inertial measurement units used by major customers, with applications spanning guided weapons systems as well as tanks, armored vehicles and helicopters. Repair and replacement demand across the full lifecycle of these platforms provides a steady and stable sales base.

As GPS jamming attacks increase globally, demand for INS — which enables autonomous navigation without external signals — has surged. With the overseas export expansion of South Korean defense products driving rapid growth in the advanced-weapons sensor market, Optonics' earnings momentum has been accelerating.

The company posted consolidated sales of 25.6 billion won ($18.5 million), operating profit of 3.6 billion won and net profit of 2.9 billion won last year.

Optonics said it plans to use the Kosdaq listing as a springboard to accelerate growth around three strategic pillars.

The company intends to strengthen defense sales through stable supply of existing RLG components and expanded offerings in FOG modules and diffraction gratings for laser weapons. It also plans to diversify into power and industrial sensors through new products — including optical current transformer sensors for high-voltage direct current transmission and amplified spontaneous emission light sources — targeting the energy infrastructure buildout driven by the spread of AI and data centers. Optonics also aims to broaden collaboration with major overseas companies to grow its global sales.

"Optonics is the only company in South Korea with a mass-production system for optical gyroscope components," Chief Executive Lee Young-woo said. "We will use the Kosdaq listing as an opportunity to contribute to the localization of defense components, accelerate our entry into the civilian sensor and global markets, and grow into a world-class sensor optics company."

Korea Exchange's Kosdaq Market Division also granted preliminary listing approval to Zenon alongside Optonics. Zenon, a software development and supply company founded in 2017, posted sales of 11.7 billion won, operating profit of 700 million won and net profit of 1.1 billion won last year. Samsung Securities is serving as its listing underwriter.