[Click eStock] "Hankook Tire, Stable Performance Expected This Year... Target Price Up"

Meritz Securities on the 6th raised the target price for Hankook Tire & Technology from 55,000 KRW to 65,000 KRW, expecting stable performance this year. The investment rating was maintained at 'Buy.'

Junseong Kim, a researcher at Meritz Securities, said, "We have raised the earnings per share (EPS) estimate by 5.1% this year," adding, "Stable performance is expected this year due to eased cost concerns from the reduction of anti-dumping tariffs."

Hankook Tire & Technology posted a surprise earnings performance in the fourth quarter of last year. Researcher Kim analyzed, "The operating profit for the fourth quarter of last year increased by 132% year-on-year to 492.4 billion KRW, significantly exceeding the consensus (average forecast by securities firms) for three consecutive quarters. Even excluding about 100 billion KRW in refunds from the reduction of U.S. anti-dumping tariffs, the company achieved operating profit and operating margin above consensus, which is a combined result of increased selling prices and decreased raw material costs."

Stable performance is expected to continue this year as well. Meritz Securities forecasts Hankook Tire & Technology's operating profit this year to be 1.3 trillion KRW. This represents a 2% decrease compared to the previous year, but excluding anti-dumping tariff refunds, it is a 6% increase. Researcher Kim stated, "Raw material costs, which have been continuously revised downward, are expected to gradually rise starting from the first quarter of this year, and logistics costs have been an issue since the beginning of the year due to the Red Sea incident. However, the normalization of the reduction in anti-dumping tariffs that has continued since 2021 is expected to strengthen cost competitiveness and expand profitability by lowering delivery prices in the U.S. market, which will offset these challenges."

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