[Click eStock] "Hana Materials, Forecasts Record High Performance This Year... Target Price Up"

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Hwajeong] Yuanta Securities on the 29th forecasted that Hanamaterials will record its highest-ever performance this year and raised the target stock price from 35,000 KRW to 53,000 KRW. The investment opinion was maintained as 'Buy.'

Researcher Lee Jaeyoon of Yuanta Securities explained, "Investment points for Hanamaterials include the growth benefits from accelerated capital investment by semiconductor companies, expectations for product and customer diversification, and the anticipated turnaround as SiC Ring (Silicon Carbide Ring) sales double compared to the previous year."

Hanamaterials' first-quarter performance this year is expected to exceed market consensus. Yuanta Securities estimated Hanamaterials' first-quarter sales and operating profit at 54.1 billion KRW and 14.6 billion KRW, respectively. These figures represent increases of 20% and 34% compared to the same period last year. Researcher Lee analyzed, "This first-quarter growth is due to the advancement of capital investment schedules by Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron in mid-first quarter."

The annual operating profit for this year is expected to reach 70.5 billion KRW, marking the highest performance ever. Yuanta Securities projected Hanamaterials' annual sales to increase by 25% year-on-year to 251.8 billion KRW, and operating profit to rise by 33% to 70.5 billion KRW.

In particular, the recent tightening of consumable parts supply is seen as an opportunity factor for Hanamaterials, which has executed proactive investments. From 2017 to 2019, Hanamaterials aggressively expanded its silicon ring production capacity and raw material internalization rate through large-scale capital investments totaling 210 billion KRW. Researcher Lee stated, "Considering the recent equipment and material procurement issues, it is understood that meaningful production capacity expansion by competitors requires about 10 months, so this year is expected to be a period of market share expansion for Hanamaterials."

A turnaround to profitability is also expected in the SiC Ring sector this year. Researcher Lee said, "The SiC Ring, located at the bottom of the etching equipment chamber, is expected to grow more than twice compared to last year and turn profitable," adding, "Hanamaterials' SiC Ring business is estimated to have recorded sales of about 6 billion KRW and an operating loss of 4 billion KRW last year, but this year it is expected to achieve sales of 15 billion KRW and operating profit of 2 billion KRW, successfully turning profitable."

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