[Click eStock] "LG Uplus, Focus on Q4 Earnings"

Ebest Investment & Securities Presents 'Buy' Investment Opinion and Target Price of 17,000 Won... Closing Price on the 7th at 13,750 Won

[Asia Economy Reporter Kum Boryeong] LG Uplus's fourth-quarter performance last year has attracted attention by exceeding expectations.

According to Ebest Investment & Securities on the 10th, LG Uplus's fourth-quarter results last year showed sales of 3.2938 trillion KRW and operating profit of 185.1 billion KRW. These figures represent increases of 3.8% and 77.8% respectively compared to the previous year. The external growth was driven by IPTV, which was the only one among the three companies to show double-digit growth rates. Wireless service revenue also contributed with a 2.4% increase. While competitors' marketing expenses increased by as much as 16%, LG Uplus improved efficiency with only a 6.7% increase.

Kim Hyunyong, a researcher at Ebest Investment & Securities, explained, "Although all three companies had similar net increases in IPTV subscribers of 110,000 to 120,000, LG Uplus's sales growth rate was twice that of others, indicating an advantage in the proportion of high value-added customers. In wireless, with the current balance of 5G mobile communication service market shares at 45%, 30%, and 25% among the three companies, the direction is expected to be more about controlling marketing costs rather than intensifying competition."

Ebest Investment & Securities gave LG Uplus a 'Buy' investment rating and a target price of 17,000 KRW. It especially named LG Uplus as the top preferred stock among telecommunications companies. Researcher Kim said, "The peak of 5G marketing price competition seems to have passed, so the effect of increased average revenue per user (ARPU) due to the full-scale distribution of devices is expected to be greater. With LG Uplus's competitive advantage in the wired business becoming clear this quarter and the acquisition of LG Hello increasing its bargaining power as a joint second-place operator, positive prospects are anticipated." On the 7th, LG Uplus's closing price was 13,750 KRW.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.