Hyundai E&C shares plunged in early trading on the 17th. The drop came after brokerages projected Hyundai E&C's third- and fourth-quarter earnings would be weaker than expected.
As of 9:39 a.m. that day, Hyundai E&C stock was trading on the main bourse at 57,300 won, down 6.37% (3,900 won) from the previous session.
It is seen as reflecting projections from brokerages that Hyundai E&C's earnings will be sluggish.
Meritz Securities estimated that Hyundai E&C's consolidation-based operating profit in the third quarter of this year would come to 45.8 billion won, down 59.9% from a year earlier. That is well below the market consensus (forecast) of 203.4 billion won.
It also cut the target price by 18% to 76,000 won from 93,000 won.
Moon Kyung-won, a Meritz Securities analyst, said, "Hyundai Engineering was asked to make a bond call (claim for performance bond) of 170 billion won at a petrochemical plant site in Poland, which significantly pushed up SG&A expenses."