[Click eStock] "Steady Strong Performance by Korea Financial Group... Projected 1 Trillion KRW Net Income This Year"

1Q Jibi Net Profit Expected to Surpass 370 Billion Won...Significantly Exceeding Expectations

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] Korea Financial Group is expected to continue its strong performance from the second quarter of last year into this year. As a 'jack-of-all-trades' in the securities industry, it has achieved strong results in various areas, and its annual controlling net profit is expected to reach the 1 trillion won level this year.

On the 8th, NH Investment & Securities maintained a 'Buy' rating on Korea Financial Group and raised the target price by about 19% to 125,000 won. The closing price the previous day was 94,400 won.

NH Investment & Securities cited Korea Financial Group's solid portfolio and diversified profitability as strengths. Junseop Jeong, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities, explained, "Securities have continued to show favorable results in investment banking (IB) sectors such as Equity Capital Markets (ECM) and Real Estate Project Financing (PF), and retail and trading revenues are also showing steady trends. In the case of Korea Investment Partners, profits are expected to expand due to the evaluation and liquidation of portfolio holdings." Particularly positive is the 31.8% stake in KakaoBank, which is scheduled for an initial public offering (IPO) this year. After listing, equity method disposal gains are expected to occur, along with expanded accessibility to the spotlighted financial platform.

Based on this, the controlling net profit is expected to reach the 1 trillion won level this year. However, the market capitalization is only in the early 5 trillion won range, with a price-to-earnings ratio (PER) of just 5.3 times. It is evaluated that the impact of rising interest rates and stock market adjustments has been somewhat excessively reflected.

Strong performance is also expected in the first quarter of this year. NH Investment & Securities estimates that Korea Financial Group will record a controlling net profit of 373.9 billion won in the first quarter of this year, significantly exceeding the market consensus of 274.4 billion won. This is expected to contrast with the large losses recorded in the first quarter of last year. Researcher Jeong said, "Securities are expected to show solid results in IB and brokerage, as well as steady trading performance even in a rising interest rate environment. Korea Investment Partners is expected to recover investments from Hughes Games in Poland, among others."

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