[Click eStock] PSK, Beneficiary of Facility Investment "Earnings Upward Revision"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] Hana Financial Investment announced on the 12th that it is raising its third-quarter sales estimate for PSK from 61 billion KRW to 81 billion KRW. This is because sales to overseas clients (exports) are expected to remain strong. In the first half of the year, estimates or analyses of PSK's performance assumed an export ratio of around 50%, but the third quarter is expected to exceed 60%.

Although it is still early to estimate fourth-quarter sales for 2021, they are expected to be higher than third-quarter sales. This is because sales are anticipated from domestic clients' Icheon Fab. Accordingly, fourth-quarter sales are estimated at 82 billion KRW, higher than the third-quarter estimate of 81 billion KRW. The annual performance for 2021 is estimated at sales of 384.3 billion KRW, operating profit of 80.4 billion KRW, and net profit of 65.7 billion KRW. Assuming increased sales to overseas clients and contributions from new equipment, the annual performance for 2022 is estimated at sales of 403.5 billion KRW, operating profit of 85.6 billion KRW, and net profit of 67.1 billion KRW. Based on a market capitalization of 514.6 billion KRW as of the 5th, the price-to-earnings ratios (PER) for 2021 and 2022 are 7.8 times and 7.7 times, respectively.

As a Korean semiconductor equipment company, PSK is at a critical crossroads. It is somewhat known that among Korean front-end equipment suppliers, the sales contribution from non-memory clients is relatively high. Going forward, it will be important whether the sales contribution to overseas clients continues to exceed 50%. Semiconductor front-end equipment suppliers that rely relatively heavily on sales to Korean clients tend to have peak sales in the first or second quarter and relatively slow down in the second half of the year. If significant sales to overseas clients occur, PSK is judged to be a semiconductor equipment company with a very high possibility of breaking away from such typical seasonality. Among small and mid-cap stocks in the semiconductor sector, there are companies whose stock prices rise long-term under foreign investor interest without being greatly affected by the memory semiconductor market conditions.

Researcher Kim Kyung-min of Hana Financial Investment emphasized, "In the case of PSK, its image as a beneficiary of the non-memory sector and as a beneficiary of overseas client capital investment is highlighted, and it is expected to break out of the undervalued PER phase and become a leading stock in the semiconductor front-end equipment sector."

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