[Click eStock] "HiteJinro, This Year's Performance Expected to Be 'Strong Start, Weak Finish'"

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jihwan] Hana Financial Investment stated on the 7th that HiteJinro is expected to have a performance characterized by a low first half and a strong second half this year. They gave a 'Buy' investment rating and a target price of 48,000 KRW.

Sim Eunju, a researcher at Hana Financial Investment, said, "1Q consolidated sales and operating profit are estimated to be 507.2 billion KRW and 46.7 billion KRW respectively, down 5.0% and 16.8% year-on-year." Although a decline in profit is inevitable in the first quarter, an improvement trend is expected from this bottom. It was explained that demand in the B2B alcoholic beverage market remains sluggish due to social distancing measures. Researcher Sim forecasted, "HiteJinro's domestic beer and soju (regular) sales are also expected to decrease by 14.7% and 5.0% respectively compared to last year."

This year’s performance is expected to follow a 'low first half, strong second half' pattern. Consolidated sales and operating profit are estimated at 2.3329 trillion KRW and 216.2 billion KRW respectively, representing increases of 3.4% and 9.0% year-on-year.

Researcher Sim emphasized, "Advertising and promotional expenses are expected to increase slightly compared to last year," adding that "considering the price decline of some raw materials (malt), the cost burden's impact on profitability is expected to be limited."

He predicted, "Assuming the easing of social distancing, expectations for a recovery in the alcoholic beverage market will be reflected in the stock price," and "annual performance this year is also expected to gradually improve from the first quarter bottom."

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