NH Investment & Securities said on the 26th that Handsome's sales and profit are expected to improve on the back of a rebound cycle in semi-durable consumption such as shoes and bags. The firm kept its "Buy" rating and raised its target price to 30,000 won from 23,000 won. Handsome's closing price in the previous session was 22,450 won.
Earlier, Handsome said that on a consolidation basis, fourth-quarter revenue last year rose 6% on-year to 463.7 billion won, while operating profit climbed 30% to 27.2 billion won. This is the first recovery in three years.
Jeong Ji-yoon, an analyst at NH Investment & Securities, said, "After the pent-up consumption phase in 2021–2022, the long-sluggish industry conditions and sales have begun to rebound from the bottom," adding, "Discounted clearance of last year's inventory was completed as of the fourth quarter, and leverage driven by an improvement in full-year gross profit margin (GPM) will appear thanks to increased sales of in-house mid-to-high-end brands such as TIME and MINE."
Signs of a recovery in industry conditions were also assessed positively. Jeong said, "Looking at year-over-year sales growth at domestic retailers, department store sales in January increased 13%, with fashion/apparel and foreign luxury brands posting the strongest growth," adding, "In February as well, same-store sales at domestic department stores are expected to continue double-digit growth."
Because about 60% of Handsome's sales come from department store channels, the company is expected to benefit directly from the rebound in domestic consumption.
Valuation appeal also stood out. Jeong said, "The current share price is only at 6.9 times price-earnings ratio (PER) and 0.3 times price-book ratio (PBR) based on 2026," adding, "It is at the beginning of a full-fledged uptrend."