"EV ga neureonda?"... Haengbokan Hanon System

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] As eco-friendly vehicles such as electric cars increase, there are forecasts that Hanon Systems' performance will also improve.

According to the financial investment industry on the 13th, Hanon Systems recorded sales of 2.1 trillion KRW and an operating profit of 194.3 billion KRW in the fourth quarter of last year. This represents increases of 7.1% and 13.6%, respectively, compared to the same period last year.

The securities industry pointed to the increase in eco-friendly car sales in the fourth quarter results last year. Yongjin Jung, a researcher at Shinhan Financial Investment, said, "The encouraging fact is that sales from eco-friendly cars reached 462.3 billion KRW, a 57.1% increase compared to the same period last year," adding, "The sales proportion also rose by 7 percentage points to 22%."

He explained, "As the supply of eco-friendly cars to Europe from major clients increases, both utilization rates and profitability are improving simultaneously," and "In 2021, with the full-scale mass production of electric vehicle-dedicated platforms, the growth trend is expected to accelerate further."

In particular, eco-friendly car-related sales are expected to continue increasing in the future, leading to further improvement in Hanon Systems' performance. Researcher Jung said, "Last year, despite a sharp decline in new car demand due to COVID-19, electric vehicle sales showed growth exceeding expectations due to coordinated eco-friendly policies and expanded supply of eco-friendly cars by automakers," adding, "Going forward, with the full-scale mass production of electric vehicle-dedicated platforms by major automakers, differentiated growth is expected to continue."

According to FnGuide, securities firms forecast Hanon Systems' sales and operating profit this year to be 7.8828 trillion KRW and 562.5 billion KRW, respectively, representing increases of 14.70% and 78.11% compared to the previous year. Woong Yoo, a researcher at eBest Investment & Securities, emphasized, "Profitability improvement due to the increase in EV proportion is expected to materialize from the first quarter of this year," and "It is highly likely that the 2021 guidance presented this time will be exceeded."