[Click eStock] "Cosmax, High Growth Again This Year... Target Price Up"

NH Investment & Securities raised the target price for Cosmax from 200,000 KRW to 210,000 KRW, expecting high growth again this year. The investment rating was maintained as 'Buy.'

NH Investment & Securities forecasted Cosmax's sales and operating profit this year to be 2.4236 trillion KRW and 218 billion KRW, respectively, representing increases of 14% and 25% compared to the previous year.

Researcher Jeong Ji-yoon of NH Investment & Securities explained, "Even assuming a modest recovery of the Chinese subsidiary, the high growth in domestic and Southeast Asian markets means the current valuation burden is not significant," adding, "From the second quarter, the recovery in China could act as an additional factor for upward earnings revision." He further stated, "Since Cosmax produces Chinese local brands, in addition to boosting domestic demand, the expansion of exports of cost-effective C-beauty brands to neighboring countries is also an expected positive factor."

The expected sales for the fourth quarter of last year were 516.9 billion KRW, and operating profit was 39.4 billion KRW, representing increases of 18% and 75%, respectively, compared to the same period last year. He said, "In Korea, both quantitative and qualitative growth is being recorded," and added, "High growth is expected to continue quarter by quarter through 2025."

He explained, "In China, although improvement has been seen since the third quarter of last year as the bottom, a net loss of 2.8 billion KRW is expected due to increased interest expenses," and "In the U.S., the LA office is operating normally targeting local brands, but considering lead time, a meaningful sales scale can be secured in the second half of this year." He added, "In Indonesia and Thailand, stable margins are expected to be demonstrated based on multiple product lines such as cushions and essences."

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