[Click e-Stock] "BH Energy to Maintain Strong Annual Performance Starting from Q1"

On June 20, KB Securities stated that it expects BH Energy to maintain its strong annual performance trend, beginning with the first quarter of this year.

In the first quarter, BH Energy recorded sales of 83.64 billion KRW, a 2.6% decrease from the same period last year, while operating profit surged by 114% to 1.58 billion KRW. Although sales saw a slight year-on-year decline, analysts attributed this to volatility arising from the recognition of sales based on project progress rates. The more than 100% improvement in operating profit is interpreted as the diminishing impact of low-margin projects that were secured during the COVID-19 period in 2019-2020.

Han Jeyoon, a researcher at KB Securities, commented, "Starting in the second half of this year, overseas nuclear power plant orders are expected to accelerate in earnest." He explained, "Contracts related to overseas nuclear power plants are expected to begin with the main contract for Poland in the second half of 2023, followed by the selection of a preferred bidder for the Czech Republic in the first half of next year. There is also discussion about the possibility of nuclear power plant orders from T?rkiye and the United Kingdom."

He added, "Currently, the lawsuit between Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and Westinghouse is the biggest obstacle to domestic nuclear power exports. However, Westinghouse is known to have relatively limited manufacturing capabilities, so the situation is unlikely to worsen significantly." As risk factors, he noted, "The settlement of the lawsuit between Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and Westinghouse could be delayed, and domestic construction permits may also take longer than the market expects."

Additionally, the government recently approved the implementation plan for the Shin Hanul Nuclear Power Plants Units 3 and 4 at the 73rd Power Development Project Promotion Committee meeting, resuming previously suspended construction. Han noted, "All 20 permitting procedures under the jurisdiction of 11 ministries required for nuclear power plant construction have now been completed at once. With only the construction permit remaining, the approval signals the normalization of the domestic nuclear power ecosystem. The resumption of Shin Hanul construction and the emergence of overseas nuclear export opportunities make this a pivotal time to pay attention to BH Energy," he added.

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