[Click eStock] "Jin Air, 4Q Operating Profit Turns Positive... Increased Demand on Japan and Southeast Asia Routes"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] Daishin Securities maintained its buy rating and target price of 21,000 KRW for Jin Air on the 22nd, expecting the airline's Q4 earnings to surpass market consensus estimates.

Jin Air's Q4 operating profit is projected to be 18.2 billion KRW, marking a return to profitability since Q1 2019. Due to the decline in the KRW-USD exchange rate, net profit is also expected to turn positive. Revenue is forecasted to increase by 201.2% year-on-year to 238.6 billion KRW.

Yang Ji-hwan, a researcher at Daishin Securities, explained, "With the global easing of COVID-19 restrictions gaining momentum, passenger demand is rapidly recovering, especially on routes to Japan in Q4," adding, "The decline in the KRW-USD exchange rate and jet fuel prices is also alleviating cost pressures."

The Japan route, which began showing improvement since October, recovered more than 83% of the November 2019 level as of last month. Demand on the Japan route continues to increase this month, and international passenger demand on Southeast Asian routes, popular winter vacation destinations, is also expected to rise. The recovery in demand on Southeast Asian routes, the easing of quarantine measures for arrivals in Hong Kong, and the relaxation of China's COVID-19 restrictions are also anticipated, leading to a faster-than-expected improvement in international passenger demand in the first half of next year.

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