Hana Securities said on the 14th that HL Mando is set to actively pursue orders for robot actuators this year, which should translate into revenue in 2028. It maintained its Buy recommendation and raised the target price to 69,000 won from 62,000 won. HL Mando closed the previous session at 60,400 won.
Song Sun-jae, an analyst at Hana Securities, said, "The robot actuator business now in preparation is expected to see full-fledged revenue generation starting in 2028, but as the master model is completed and related orders come in during 2026, the valuation multiple should move higher."
Although the developer of a Humanoid Robot has not yet been specified, leaving uncertainty about the timing and scale of orders, Song assessed HL Mando's technological competitiveness highly. Song said, "Given its strong understanding of mechanical technology and mass-production experience, and its ability to leverage already-built production facilities and the value chain, the entry barriers to the robot actuator market are low," adding, "These factors will underpin a rise in the company's valuation over the mid to long term."
However, the near-term outlook for earnings was somewhat conservative. Song estimated HL Mando's fourth-quarter revenue last year at 2.47 trillion won and operating profit at 86.7 billion won. That would be a 2% increase in revenue from a year earlier but a 22% drop in operating profit.
On revenue, Song said, "Volumes slowed because of weak production at frontline clients, but expanded deliveries centered on local original equipment manufacturers (OE) in India, China and Europe, the start-up of Hyundai Motor's new U.S. plant, and the effect from hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) partly offset the decline."
By contrast, Song saw several headwinds for operating profit. Song said, "A higher share of electronic parts and a stronger exchange rate are positives, but fixed-cost burdens from lower volumes and U.S. tariff expenses will be reflected," adding, "Some of the tariff expense compensation expected from automakers has been deferred to the first quarter of 2026, and there also appear to have been one-off quality expenses."
In addition, in non-operating income and expenses, a 5 billion won valuation loss on financial assets related to the investment in China's iMotion is expected. This reflects about a 23% drop in iMotion's share price.