[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jihwan] Hana Financial Investment evaluated Interojo on the 16th, expecting continued strong performance following last year, including achieving sales of 100 billion KRW this year. Accordingly, they maintained a 'Buy' investment rating and a target price of 37,500 KRW.
An Juwon, a researcher at Hana Financial Investment, stated, "Interojo is expected to show strong performance through portfolio diversification with steady new product launches, sales expansion in the high-entry-barrier Japanese market, and diversification of sales channels through online channel expansion."
Although business operations in China have been challenging recently due to the COVID-19 situation, the impact is considered limited as the first quarter is a seasonal low period and online sales expansion is being strengthened. Additionally, sales growth continues in Japan, domestic, and European markets, indicating a stable performance trend.
First-quarter sales this year are projected at 25.4 billion KRW, a 35.7% increase year-on-year, with operating profit expected to rise 52.6% to 6.2 billion KRW. Notably, performance in Japan is encouraging. Since its full-scale entry in 2012, Interojo has enhanced competitiveness by introducing various products, resulting in Japanese sales increasing from 5.6 billion KRW in 2016 to 22.6 billion KRW last year.
Researcher An Juwon predicted, "2020 performance is expected to surpass annual sales of 100 billion KRW due to the effect of the new blue light blocking lens product launched at the end of March, increased ODM sales to Japan, and achieving an average quarterly sales of 6 billion KRW to Europe." He added that the completion of the third factory around October, which will expand production capacity, further raises expectations for performance.
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