Hanwha Engine rose in early trading on the 27th. Buying is seen as gathering on news that it posted strong earnings beating market expectations last year.
As of 10:05 a.m. that day, Hanwha Engine was trading at 55,000 won, up 1,800 won (3.38%) from the previous session.
Hanwha Engine disclosed after the market closed the previous day that last year's revenue was 1.3711 trillion won and operating profit was 130.1 billion won. That represents sharp increases of 14% and 82%, respectively, from a year earlier. Net profit came to 173.8 billion won, up 120% over the same period. Operating profit beat market expectations by about 30%.
Hanwha Engine said of last year's results, "Revenue increased and the operating margin improved due to higher unit prices."
Brokerages are also raising their target prices. Korea Investment & Securities Co. raised its target price for Hanwha Engine that day to 64,000 won from 61,000 won.
Kang Kyung-tae, an analyst at Korea Investment & Securities Co., said, "We expect the average selling price (ASP) of low-speed engines to be in the 10 billion won range," and added, "With the acquisition of Norway's Seam AS pending, we plan to immediately reflect the equity acquisition payment expenditure and the effect of consolidation in results upon closing."