[Special Stock] Iljin Dia, Hydrogen Truck Company Nasdaq Listing Worth 15.6 Trillion Won...Only Domestic Hydrogen Car Tank Highlighted

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] Iljin Diamond is showing strength. The news that the strike, which had been a factor in the stock price decline, has ended seems to have influenced the stock price. Expectations for growth in its subsidiary Iljin Composite Materials are also acting as positive factors for the stock price increase.

As of 11:16 AM on the 8th, Iljin Diamond is trading at 29,250 KRW, up 3.72% compared to the previous trading day.

Researcher Kyunggeun Kang of NH Investment & Securities explained, "News of the settlement of wage and collective bargaining negotiations between labor and management was delivered after 338 days," adding, "Since the strike risk has been resolved, there is an upward factor for earnings forecasts, and discount factors from an ESG perspective can be removed."

He continued, "While the strike continued, the low operating rate (38.4%) of the core business, industrial diamonds, persisted," emphasizing, "The subsidiary Iljin Composite Materials led the earnings growth."

Iljin Composite Materials achieved sales of 20.49 billion KRW and operating profit of 3.02 billion KRW in the first quarter of this year. Sales increased by 327.4% compared to the same period last year, and operating profit turned positive.

Researcher Kyung also noted, "Expectations for the growth potential of the global hydrogen fuel cell truck market are rising," introducing, "On the 4th (local time), Nikola, a hydrogen fuel cell truck manufacturer, was listed on the US Nasdaq."

He added, "Nikola currently has secured orders for 14,602 hydrogen fuel cell trucks (worth 10.2 billion USD)," and "plans to start producing hydrogen fuel cell trucks from the first quarter of 2023."

The hydrogen fuel cell trucks to be launched by Nikola can travel 500 to 750 miles on a single charge. As of the closing price on the 5th of this month, Nikola's market capitalization was approximately 12.92 billion USD (15.6 trillion KRW), reflecting the market's high expectations for the growth potential of hydrogen fuel cell trucks, considering that it is not currently generating revenue.

Researcher Kang said, "So far, the production trend of Nexo has fallen far short of the existing second-quarter production forecast, making second-quarter earnings weakness inevitable," but he expressed hope, saying, "Since policy support such as the Hydrogen Economy Act enforcement and the Green New Deal continues to strengthen, the long-term growth potential remains valid as the only domestic manufacturer of hydrogen tanks for hydrogen vehicles."