[Click eStock] "Patron, from Smartphones to Automotive Electronics... Clear Performance Improvement"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jaehee] Daishin Securities maintained a buy rating on Patron on the 3rd, setting a target price of 16,000 KRW.

Patron's operating profit for the first quarter of this year was 20.8 billion KRW, an increase of 31.9% compared to the same period last year. Sales amounted to 359.9 billion KRW, up 8.2% during the same period.

The increase in first-quarter sales was attributed to an 89% rise in sensor modules due to expanded supply of optical fingerprint recognition modules for the Galaxy A series. Additionally, camera module sales increased by 2% due to supply for the Galaxy S22, which also had a positive impact.

Researcher Park Kangho of Daishin Securities analyzed, "With smartphone camera modules accounting for 73% of total sales last year maintaining solid sales, the strong sales of fingerprint recognition modules, along with the addition of automotive camera modules and LED modules, enabled the company to achieve high sales and operating profit among domestic mid-sized camera module companies as of the first quarter."

Accordingly, total sales for this year are expected to reach 1.44 trillion KRW, with operating profit of 85.3 billion KRW. The average supply price of camera modules is expected to rise due to the application of image stabilization components in Samsung Electronics' budget models (Galaxy A series), as well as increased overall smartphone sales and average supply prices by Samsung Electronics, leading to improved performance for camera module companies.

Automotive camera sales this year are also expected to increase by 46.1% to 45 billion KRW compared to last year (30.8 billion KRW). Due to increased market share from Hyundai Motor Group's automotive electrification and the growing proportion of electric vehicles, sales of about 10 billion KRW are expected in the second quarter.

Researcher Park said, "With the inclusion of additional sales from new camera module businesses such as automotive cameras, wireless communication products, and electronic cigarettes, the company is expected to achieve stable growth with less volatility compared to other camera module companies."

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