[Click eStock] LG Innotek, Forecasted to Achieve Best Performance This Year... Target Price Raised

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] Daishin Securities forecasted on the 10th that LG Innotek will achieve record-high sales and operating profit this year. Accordingly, it maintained a 'Buy' investment rating and raised the target stock price to 520,000 KRW.

Researcher Shin Seok-hwan of Daishin Securities stated, "Sales and operating profit in 2022 and 2023 are expected to break record highs." He projected sales of 17.8 trillion KRW and operating profit of 1.59 trillion KRW for 2022. For 2023, sales are expected to reach 19.3 trillion KRW and operating profit 1.67 trillion KRW.

Researcher Shin analyzed the strong performance background, saying, "Changes in Apple's iPhone camera specifications will lead to an increase in average supply prices," and added, "An increase in the main camera's pixel count is expected in 2022, and the application of folded cameras in 2023."

He further explained, "In 2022, LG Innotek will newly supply the front camera (single) for the iPhone 15, increasing its share within Apple, and approximately 600 billion KRW in additional sales (second half of 2022) compared to previous estimates has been reflected."

Researcher Shin assessed, "Due to Apple's supply chain stabilization strategy, collaboration with LG Innotek is strengthening compared to before," and diagnosed, "LG Innotek's windfall benefits will be linked to increased market share (cameras, semiconductor substrates, etc.)."

He also anticipated that sales of automotive cameras will increase significantly after 2023. Researcher Shin judged, "Collaboration with LG Magna and Tesla is expected to expand, and when Apple launches XR devices in 2023, LG Innotek is expected to supply mainly ToF cameras."

Researcher Shin emphasized, "Based on supply experience for Apple iPhone cameras and high brand recognition, as the application of cameras in autonomous driving and electric vehicles expands, transactions with global automobile and IT device companies are also expected to increase."

He added, "We are raising the earnings per share (EPS) estimates for 2022 and 2023 by 8.4% and 11.4%, respectively, compared to previous estimates," and said, "We maintain LG Innotek as the top pick in the IT sector and consider it a company with high visibility in sales and profit estimates for the second half of the year."

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