[Click eStock] "CJ CheilJedang, Improvement in Key Business Segment Performance"

NH Investment & Securities maintained a buy rating and a target price of 430,000 KRW for CJ CheilJedang on the 18th, stating that the performance of key business sectors has improved compared to the first half of this year, and that consolidated operating profit is expected to increase starting from the fourth quarter.

Joo Young-hoon, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities, explained, "The sale of the Chinese food subsidiary 'Jisangjwi' followed by the decision to sell the Brazilian feed raw material manufacturing and sales subsidiary 'CJ Selecta' is also positive for corporate value," adding, "This is expected to secure funds for new business investments and financial soundness, and it is meaningful in terms of restructuring the somewhat complex business portfolio so far."

CJ CheilJedang's third-quarter consolidated sales are projected to be 7.6688 trillion KRW, down 4% year-on-year, and operating profit is expected to decrease by 21% to 382.8 billion KRW, in line with consensus estimates. Excluding the performance of subsidiary CJ Logistics, sales are expected to decline by 4% year-on-year, and operating profit is projected to fall by 28%.

Sales in the food sector are estimated to have increased by 2% year-on-year to 3.1198 trillion KRW. Researcher Joo stated, "Domestic processed food demand is expected to show a slight recovery, and overseas business is anticipated to continue strong performance centered on the United States," adding, "Cost burdens did not improve as much as expected due to higher-than-anticipated exchange rate effects, but are estimated to ease from the fourth quarter."

The bio sector is analyzed to experience declines in both sales and operating profit due to prolonged market sluggishness. However, the trend of increasing proportions of high-margin specialty products continues, and since conservative performance estimates have already been made, it is judged that there are no additional concerns.

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