[Weekly HOT Stocks] Hanwha Solutions Plans Investment in Solar Power and Hydrogen Industries... Market Interest 'UP'

[Asia Economy Reporter Kum Boryeong] Hanwha Solutions, planning investments in the solar power and hydrogen industries through a large-scale paid-in capital increase, attracted market attention for a week.

According to the Korea Exchange on the 3rd, institutional investors purchased Hanwha Solutions shares worth 18.5 billion KRW from the 28th to the 30th of last month. During this period, Hanwha Solutions ranked 8th among the top net purchase stocks by institutional investors across the combined KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets.

The stock price also rose. The closing price, which was 45,650 KRW on the 24th of last month, increased by 4.93% over three trading days to 47,900 KRW on the 30th.

Hyundai Motor Securities estimated Hanwha Solutions' Q4 performance last year at 2.5 trillion KRW in sales and 163.9 billion KRW in operating profit. Compared to the previous year, sales increased by 0.6% and operating profit by 446.3%. Compared to the previous quarter, sales rose by 1.5%, but operating profit decreased by 29.7%.

Hanwha Solutions, which recently carried out a capital increase of about 1.2 trillion KRW, is expected to expand its business areas in the solar power and hydrogen sectors through this.

Researcher Hwang Yusik of NH Investment & Securities said, "Aggressive investment in the solar power and hydrogen industries is expected through the large-scale paid-in capital increase. Of the 1.2 trillion KRW raised, 1 trillion KRW is planned for the solar power business and 200 billion KRW for the hydrogen business." He analyzed, "Sales in the solar power business are expected to increase from about 3.5 trillion KRW in 2020 to 12 trillion KRW in 2025, and the hydrogen business aims for cumulative sales of 1.8 trillion KRW by 2025."

Looking at the solar power investment in detail, 400 billion KRW will be invested in next-generation module development and facility construction. Another 400 billion KRW is expected to be allocated to downstream businesses such as acquiring solar power generation assets, energy supply, and resale. About 2 GW of facilities were acquired last year, and this year the goal is to acquire about 6 GW of facilities. Additionally, 300 billion KRW is planned for investment in distributed solar power-based energy businesses.

Researcher Hwang explained, "Operating profit in the solar power business was 275 billion KRW in 2021, showing only a slight increase compared to the previous year, but this was due to costs from facility conversion and initial investments in power generation projects, as well as the impact of COVID-19." He added, "Operating profit is estimated to rise to 434 billion KRW in 2022 with improved module efficiency, and an increasing trend is expected through 2025."

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