[Click eStock] "POSCO ICT, Beneficiary of Smart Logistics Market Growth"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] KTB Investment & Securities analyzed on the 1st that POSCO ICT is expected to be the biggest beneficiary of the growth in the smart logistics market. The investment opinion was maintained as 'Buy,' and the target price was raised from the existing 8,000 KRW to 10,000 KRW.

Jae-yoon Kim, a researcher at KTB Investment & Securities, said, "The introduction of smart logistics by logistics companies is accelerating due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19)." He added, "Given the labor-intensive nature of existing logistics centers, the rapid spread of COVID-19 confirmed cases within logistics centers is increasing, making the adoption of smart logistics an essential factor for logistics companies in terms of contactless operations and cost reduction."

POSCO ICT secured a 100 billion KRW contract in the third quarter for Hanjin's 'Daejeon Mega-Hub Logistics Automation Facility Construction' project. This project is the world's second-largest smart logistics center, capable of handling 140,000 logistics items per hour with about 300 personnel. Researcher Kim explained, "In addition to Hanjin smart logistics, POSCO ICT succeeded in various smart logistics orders this year," and added, "By the third quarter, it had secured more than 200 billion KRW in smart logistics orders alone, and smart logistics is expected to expand to more than 20% of the company's new orders."

Researcher Kim also expected POSCO ICT's smart logistics to expand into cold chain logistics systems in the future. He emphasized, "To build cold chain logistics that can cover everything from fresh food to vaccines, it is essential to measure and monitor temperature throughout the transportation process and ensure reliability in maintaining freshness," and added, "POSCO ICT, which has the reliability of Incheon Airport logistics systems and references for large logistics centers, is also expected to advance into cold chain smart logistics."

Meanwhile, KTB Investment & Securities forecasted that POSCO ICT's sales and operating profit next year will increase by 11.2% and 37.3% from the previous year to 1.14 trillion KRW and 70.4 billion KRW, respectively.