[Click eStock] Hanwha Solutions on the Rise... Solar Power Sales Increasing by 30% Annually

Goal to Achieve 13 Trillion KRW Solar Power Sales in 2025
Last Year's 4Q Slightly Weak Due to Raw Material Price Increase Impact

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] Hanwha Solutions' solar power division sales are expected to increase by 30% annually. The company is anticipated to grow by diversifying its business from module manufacturing within the solar power value chain to virtual power plants (VPP) and other areas.

On the 19th, Daishin Securities maintained a 'Buy' rating on Hanwha Solutions with this outlook and raised the target price by 3.2% to 65,000 KRW. The closing price the previous day was 51,300 KRW.

Hanwha Solutions reported consolidated sales of 9.195 trillion KRW and operating profit of 594.2 billion KRW last year. While sales decreased by 2.8% compared to the previous year, operating profit increased by 29.4%. During the same period, net loss turned into net profit, achieving a net income of 301.7 billion KRW.

Along with the earnings announcement, the company presented a goal to achieve total sales of 21 trillion KRW by 2025. Of this, the solar power segment sales are targeted to reach 13 trillion KRW, increasing its sales proportion to 60%. To achieve this goal and ensure stable profit generation, the company plans to diversify its business within the solar power value chain from module manufacturing to VPP and power generation. Sangwon Han, a researcher at Daishin Securities, stated, "Accordingly, the solar power division's sales will increase by 30% annually, which is a high growth rate comparable to electric vehicles," adding, "As the growth potential of the solar power division becomes increasingly visible, further revaluation as a growth stock is also fully possible."

However, the fourth-quarter performance last year was somewhat sluggish. Sales recorded 2.5618 trillion KRW, and operating profit was 65.4 billion KRW. Although operating profit turned positive compared to the same period last year, it decreased by 72.0% compared to the previous quarter. This was 55.34% below market consensus. The solar power division (Q CELLS) posted worse-than-expected results, turning to a loss, and about 100 billion KRW of one-time costs were also reflected.

Solar power sales amounted to 1.162 trillion KRW, including 250 billion KRW from downstream (power generation) sales. Module sales recorded 910 billion KRW. An operating loss of 2.4 billion KRW was recorded. Researcher Han analyzed, "Considering downstream profits and bonuses, module sales profit was 4.6 billion KRW, with an operating margin of only 0.5%," explaining, "This was due to continued pressure from rising prices of key raw materials such as glass and wafers."

The chemical division's operating profit was 66 billion KRW, down 58% from the previous quarter. Researcher Han explained, "Excluding one-time factors such as bonuses and regular maintenance, it maintained a solid level of 136 billion KRW (operating margin 16%)," adding, "The company's pre-tax profit was also weak at -76.2 billion KRW, affected by asset impairments of 130 billion KRW, including 90 billion KRW from solar power."

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