[Click eStock] "Rising Demand at Marts Due to High Inflation"… Emart Target Price Raised Again

[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] Despite Emart recording sluggish operating profits in the fourth quarter of last year, securities firms have been raising their target prices one after another. Although the subsidiaries Starbucks and Shinsegae Construction posted poor earnings, the mart segment alone significantly exceeded market expectations. With the high inflation trend expected to continue for the time being this year, mart sales growth is anticipated.

On the 15th, Korea Investment & Securities raised Emart's target stock price from 130,000 won to 150,000 won. Emart's operating profit in the fourth quarter of last year was 22.3 billion won, down 71.2% compared to the same period last year. This was due to poor performance from subsidiaries such as Starbucks and Shinsegae Construction, while the mart operating profit (separate basis) nearly doubled (93%) to 81.3 billion won during the same period. Additionally, there are plans to include offline distribution channels such as Emart, department stores, and duty-free shops in the paid membership service within the first half of this year.

Kim Myung-joo, a researcher at Korea Investment & Securities, said, "With the slowdown in online market growth and increased dining-out price burdens, consumers' demand for mart shopping will grow further," and forecasted, "The mart industry growth rate is expected to be 3.2% this year."

Hanwha Investment & Securities also raised Emart's target price from 130,000 won to 150,000 won. Lee Jin-hyup, a researcher at Hanwha Investment & Securities, emphasized, "The turnaround in separate basis earnings was remarkable," adding, "2023 is expected to be the first year of Emart's earnings turnaround, and we raise the target price while presenting it as the top preferred stock in the distribution sector."

In addition, Daishin Securities raised its target price from 122,000 won to 130,000 won, Shinhan Investment Corp. from 120,000 won to 130,000 won, and Samsung Securities from 104,000 won to 122,000 won, respectively.

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