[Click e-Stock] "OCI Delivers Surprise Q1 Results, Even Stronger Outlook for Q2... Target Price Raised"

On April 23, Samsung Securities announced that OCI had reported first-quarter results that significantly exceeded market expectations, and that the outlook for the second quarter is even brighter. The brokerage raised its target price by 19.2% from 130,000 won to 155,000 won.

Hyunryul Cho, a researcher at Samsung Securities, stated, "First-quarter operating profit was 27.8 billion won (up 889% from the previous quarter), surpassing both the market consensus and our own estimate by 72%." He explained, "This was due to better-than-expected profitability improvements in the carbon chemicals segment."

Researcher Cho added, "Operating profit for the carbon chemicals division reached 31.7 billion won (up 2,013% from the previous quarter), driven by increased pitch sales and a widened spread resulting from a sharp short-term rise in oil prices." In contrast, he noted, "Operating profit for the basic chemicals segment was 1.4 billion won (down 78% from the previous quarter), underperforming due to regular maintenance and delayed delivery of materials for semiconductors."

The outlook for the second quarter is even more positive. Researcher Cho said, "Second-quarter operating profit is expected to reach 32.9 billion won (up 18% from the previous quarter), outperforming the consensus and our estimate by 30%." He explained, "Profit growth from the previous quarter is attributed to robust demand for semiconductor materials, recovery in sales volume following the completion of regular maintenance, and the full reflection of oil price increases." He further stated, "Operating profit for the basic chemicals segment is projected to be 15.6 billion won (up 1,012% from the previous quarter), while operating profit for the carbon chemicals segment is expected to be 22.6 billion won (down 29% from the previous quarter)."

The full-year outlook has also been revised upward. Researcher Cho said, "We are raising our annual operating profit forecast for this year from 104.1 billion won to 127.5 billion won, a 22% increase." He added, "Due to the recent sharp rise in oil prices, not only is the profitability of carbon chemicals being revised upward, but if phosphate-based etchant and specialty carbon black are commercialized in the second half of the year, there is potential for further upward revision of profit forecasts."

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