Hyundai Motor Securities noted on the 22nd that despite weak demand, KISCO is in an attractive price range. It maintained its investment rating of "buy" and raised the target stock price from 10,500 won to 11,000 won. The closing price of KISCO on the previous trading day was 9,000 won.
Park Hyun-wook, a researcher at Hyundai Motor Securities, said, "Despite weak demand, domestic rebar companies are focusing on improving revenue, so a return to profitability in the second quarter (April to June) is possible." He added, "The performance momentum is limited, but the price-to-book ratio (PBR) is at 0.41 times, which is at the historical band low."
He also positively assessed KISCO's shareholder return policy. KISCO has burned 6 million shares (about 14% of issued shares) as part of its shareholder return efforts. Despite poor performance, it paid out dividends of 800 won per share last year, achieving a dividend payout ratio of 112%.
KISCO recorded sales of 116.2 billion won and an operating loss of 10.6 billion won for the first quarter (January to March) of this year. Sales decreased by 21.5% compared to the same period last year, and the operating profit turned to a loss.
Hyundai Motor Securities believes that weak performance in the first quarter was due to the sluggishness in the upstream industry. According to Hyundai Motor Securities, domestic rebar demand in the first quarter of this year was 1.68 million tons, a decrease of 11% compared to the same period last year. KISCO's rebar sales are also estimated to have decreased by 10% to 140,000 tons.