[Click eStock] "KT&G, Top-Level Shareholder Returns in Korea"

NH Investment & Securities maintained a 'Buy' rating and a target price of 110,000 KRW for KT&G on the 17th, stating that the company is proceeding with its shareholder return policy as planned.

Joo Young-hoon, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities, explained, "The company announced a mid- to long-term shareholder return plan at the end of last year and new share repurchases and cancellations are expected to take place in the second half of this year." He added, "They continue to maintain one of the highest levels of shareholder returns in the domestic market."

He estimated that "KT&G achieved consolidated sales of 1.3546 trillion KRW and operating profit of 281.1 billion KRW in the first quarter of this year," and analyzed that "the operating profit slightly missed market expectations."

Furthermore, he noted that "while the core tobacco business performed well, the KGC segment showed some weakness," emphasizing that "growth is expected to continue due to the effect of the new product 'Lil Hybrid 3.0' launched in the second half of last year."

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