[Click eStock] "Cheonbo Proven by Performance... Continued Growth in Secondary Battery Material Sales"

Sharp Performance Growth Expected by the Year After Next

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] As sales of secondary battery materials continue to rise sharply, Cheonbo is expected to consistently achieve strong performance.

On the 12th, Hana Financial Investment maintained a 'Buy' rating on Cheonbo and raised the target price by 8.6% to 380,000 KRW. The closing price the previous day was 320,000 KRW.

In the third quarter of this year, Cheonbo recorded consolidated sales of 73.8 billion KRW and operating profit of 11.9 billion KRW, representing increases of 93% and 69% respectively compared to the same period last year. The secondary battery materials segment, which accounts for about 72% of sales, saw sales increase by 198% year-on-year and 42% quarter-on-quarter due to steady growth in demand for general-purpose P electrolytes and premium F electrolytes. However, profitability in this segment is estimated to have slightly declined due to rising prices of lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6) and fixed cost burdens from new line operations. The semiconductor and display materials segment, accounting for about 22% of sales, grew slightly with a 3% increase in sales compared to the same period last year.

Strong performance growth is expected to continue going forward. Hyunsoo Kim, a researcher at Hana Financial Investment, stated, "Unlike general secondary battery material companies whose performance depends mainly on battery shipments, Cheonbo’s growth is driven by increasing penetration rates of key products such as electrolytes and additives within the battery market alongside battery market expansion." He added, "These products align with the primary concerns of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), such as improving battery life and increasing charging speed, so market penetration is expected to continuously rise."

In particular, as shipments of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries in China increase sharply, Cheonbo, with over 50% of its sales coming from China, is expected to benefit further. Therefore, Hana Financial Investment forecasts that Cheonbo will record sales of 391.9 billion KRW and operating profit of 71.5 billion KRW next year. It is also expected to continue rapid growth with sales of 512.6 billion KRW and operating profit of 94.6 billion KRW in the following year.

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