[Click eStock] "Doosan Bobcat, 4Q Performance Exceeds Expectations Amid Supply Shortage"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] DB Financial Investment maintained a buy rating and a target price of 50,000 KRW for Doosan Bobcat on the 10th, stating that the company's Q4 performance last year exceeded estimates (consensus) due to increased volume in advanced markets and the effect of price hikes despite supply chain constraints.

Doosan Bobcat recorded consolidated sales of 1.7615 trillion KRW and an operating profit margin of 8.8% in Q4 last year. Kim Hong-gyun, a researcher at DB Financial Investment, explained, "Sales grew significantly due to increased volume from economic recovery in advanced markets and the effect of price increases, but the operating profit margin did not improve much due to continued low profitability in industrial vehicles, raw material supply issues, and rising logistics costs." He also noted, "Non-operating income included a gain of 17 million USD from the sale of land in China."

Researcher Kim evaluated that, given the strong demand-driven market conditions, further improvement is possible this year as supply chain bottlenecks stabilize. He said, "Despite supply chain constraints such as some parts procurement issues and logistics congestion, remarkable sales growth was achieved in Q4 last year," adding, "In 2022, demand remains very strong, as evidenced by securing 11 months' worth of orders in the core North American market." He continued, "However, supply chain disruptions have led to insufficient supply response compared to strong demand in the compact market," but added, "These related supply chain issues are likely to gradually stabilize."

Furthermore, Doosan Bobcat has planned to execute the largest-ever scale of investment in research and development to sustain mid- to long-term growth. Regarding this, Researcher Kim said, "Although profit margins are expected to decline in 2022, the improvement will be more significant from 2023 onwards."

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