[Click eStock] "Hanwha Solutions, The Worst Phase Is Over"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Hana Financial Investment upgraded its investment opinion on Hanwha Solutions from "hold" to "buy" on the 18th. However, the target price was lowered from 45,000 KRW to 40,000 KRW.

Hanwha Solutions recorded an operating profit of 84.2 billion KRW in the fourth quarter of last year. Although this was a 29% increase compared to the same period last year, it fell short of the market forecast of 192 billion KRW.

Due to market sluggishness, equity method losses, and asset impairment losses related to idle assets caused by Q CELLS' line conversion, net profit turned to a deficit.

However, considering that one-time costs such as operating profit and performance bonuses amounting to about 100 billion KRW were reflected, the actual results appear to meet market expectations.

In the first quarter of this year, performance is expected to improve due to market recovery and the elimination of one-time losses. Accordingly, the operating profit for the first quarter is forecasted to be 136.8 billion KRW.

Yoon Jae-sung, a researcher at Hanwha Financial Investment, analyzed, "From mid-year, the worst phase is considered over due to the large-scale expansion of the global solar chain, which caused a sharp rise in solar chain prices, leading to a contraction in installation demand and deficits in cells and modules," adding, "Chemical performance, centered on polyvinyl chloride (PVC), caustic soda, and polyethylene (LDPE), is expected to gradually improve."

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