Emart Enters Full-Scale Profit Growth Cycle After 7 Years

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jihwan] Samsung Securities on the 15th stated that Emart has entered a full-fledged profit growth cycle for the first time in 7 years, upgrading its investment opinion to 'Buy' and raising the target price from 120,000 KRW to 167,000 KRW, a 39.2% increase.

Park Eunkyung, a researcher at Samsung Securities, analyzed, "Second-quarter sales reached 5.19 trillion KRW, a 13% increase compared to the previous year, while operating losses widened to 47.4 billion KRW." The performance of non-retail sectors such as hotels was disappointing compared to the retail sector.

However, Park believes that attention should be paid to the operating profit growth cycle starting from the second half of this year. This marks the beginning of a profit growth cycle for the first time in 7 years since 2013.

Researcher Park Eunkyung explained, "It is expected that market share within the food sector will expand due to the utilization of online channels and the ripple effects of competitors' restructuring," adding, "The rising trend in labor cost burdens, which has been the main cause of profitability deterioration, is expected to stop."

Researcher Park added, "Amid strong demand for food and beverages, an expansion of market dominance in the food and beverage sector through both online and offline channels is anticipated."