[Click eStock] "Zinus, Upward Earnings Outlook Again This Year... Target Price Up"

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jihwan] SK Securities evaluated that it was difficult to accurately assess the fundamental strength of Zinus last year due to one-off issues, and that the real game starts this year. They maintained a buy rating and raised the target price by 9.61% from the previous 102,182 KRW to 112,000 KRW.

Zinus's sales in the first quarter of this year are expected to increase by 21.6% year-on-year to 224.2 billion KRW, but operating profit is forecasted to decrease by 11% to 20.8 billion KRW. In particular, considering that about 48.7 billion KRW of non-recurring logistics costs, including 37 billion KRW and an additional 11.7 billion KRW for temporary warehouse rental and operating expenses, were reflected in the second half of last year, a dramatic improvement in profit margin is expected.

Shin Seo-jeong, a researcher at SK Securities, explained, "The operating profit margin for this quarter is forecasted at 9.3%, and a significant improvement compared to the previous quarter is expected," adding, "the biggest point of interest in this quarter's performance is whether the non-recurring costs stabilize." While most logistics issues in the first quarter have been resolved, leading to an expected improvement in profit margin compared to the previous quarter, an increase in raw material prices is expected to cause a decrease compared to the same period last year.

This year, annual sales are expected to reach 1.2 trillion KRW, a 22.6% increase year-on-year, and operating profit is expected to increase by 70.2% to 147.6 billion KRW. With the operation of the US production plant in the second quarter, premium products and category expansion are anticipated.

Researcher Shin Seo-jeong emphasized, "The current stock price level highlights valuation attractiveness compared to global peers in the same industry," and added, "Last year, it was difficult to accurately assess the increase in fundamental strength due to one-off issues, so the real game starts this year."

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