[Click eStock] LG EnSol, After the Worst Phase in the First Half, Full-Scale Leap Starting in 2023

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] Hyundai Motor Securities maintained its investment opinion of 'Buy' and target price of 640,000 KRW for LG Energy Solution on the 14th, stating that as initially forecasted, the first half of this year will be the worst period, but improvements are expected from the second half onward.

Kang Dong-jin, a researcher at Hyundai Motor Securities, said, "The first half will be sluggish due to raw material and logistics costs, semiconductor issues, and GM recall responses."

Researcher Kang added, "The demand for cylindrical batteries in the first quarter is very strong," and "Recently, AP Moller-Maersk, the world's largest container shipping company, forecasted that supply chain issues will ease in the second half, which will help improve costs from then on."

Kang evaluated that LG Energy Solution is advantageous compared to CATL in the mid to long term. He said, "In 2023, with the operation of GM's first plant in the U.S. and a significant expansion of cylindrical battery production, the production capacity will be much larger than this year," and predicted, "2023 will be a full-fledged leap forward."

He continued, "The recent sharp decline in CATL's stock price is due to uncertainty about whether CATL can meaningfully secure market share outside of China," and added, "On the contrary, LG Energy Solution can expand its market share based on high growth in the U.S., making its premium over CATL justified."

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