[Click eStock] "LG Innotek, the key to overcoming the recession is 'iPhone 14 Pro'... Target price ↑"

[Asia Economy Reporter Myunghwan Lee] Kiwoom Securities announced on the 21st that it maintains a buy rating on LG Innotek and has raised the target price from 440,000 KRW to 470,000 KRW. This is due to the expected benefits from the strong performance of Apple's new smartphone 'iPhone 14 Pro' series.

Kiwoom Securities forecasts LG Innotek's operating profit for the third and fourth quarters of this year to be 425.1 billion KRW and 564.9 billion KRW, respectively. These figures represent increases of 27% and 31% compared to the same period last year, and are expected to exceed market estimates.

Kiwoom Securities' analysis suggests that the strong sales of the iPhone 14 Pro series will concentrate benefits on LG Innotek, which supplies key components for this model. The iPhone 14 Pro has shown strong pre-orders mainly in the US and China, leading to plans for increased production. The Pro series accounted for 47% of iPhone 13 sales, but Kiwoom Securities expects this to reach 60% with the iPhone 14. Due to the strength of the Pro models, LG Innotek, which leads in supplying parts such as sensor-shift cameras and ToF (Time-of-Flight) 3D modules, is expected to perform strongly.

Regarding automotive components, Kiwoom Securities anticipates a faster pace of performance improvement in the second half of the year, supported by the easing of semiconductor supply issues for vehicles. This is because LG Innotek is expanding production of key parts such as autonomous driving cameras at its Mexico plant while strengthening partnerships with North American OEMs, enabling proactive response to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Optical solutions are expected to continue momentum with the launch of major customers' first XR (Extended Reality) devices next year, adoption of folded zoom cameras in new iPhones, and expanded supply of autonomous driving cameras.

Kim Jisan, Head of Research Center at Kiwoom Securities, stated, "LG Innotek's third and fourth quarter results are expected to exceed market expectations," and added, "Automotive components can proactively respond to the Inflation Reduction Act through the Mexico plant."

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