[Featured Stock] Lotte Chemical Rises for Second Day on Turnaround Expectations

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Hwajeong] Lotte Chemical has been on the rise for the second day amid expectations of a performance turnaround.

As of 9:30 a.m. on the 23rd, Lotte Chemical was trading at 318,500 KRW, up 16,500 KRW (5.46%) from the previous day.

The expectation of a performance recovery is interpreted as a factor driving the stock price increase. KB Securities forecasted that Lotte Chemical's first-quarter sales will increase by 18.5% year-on-year to 3.8813 trillion KRW, and operating profit will turn positive to 411.5 billion KRW, exceeding consensus. Baek Youngchan, a researcher at KB Securities, said, "A significant performance improvement is expected due to product price increases from reduced offshore volume and increased inventory demand, rising prices of compounding Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), and cost reduction from the normal operation of Lotte Daesan Petrochemical," adding, "The turnaround is expected to begin from the first quarter due to demand expansion following economic recovery after the pandemic."