[Click eStock] Enox Advanced Materials Reports Strong Q4 Performance Last Year... Expected to Maximize Profit Margin This Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Myunghwan Lee] Korea Investment & Securities announced on the 4th that it expects InnoX Advanced Materials to maximize its operating profit margin this year, maintaining a buy rating and raising the target price by 12% to 64,000 KRW.

InnoX Advanced Materials is a specialized IT component materials company producing materials for printed circuit boards (PCB), semiconductor packaging, and organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display materials. Its major clients include SK Hynix, Samsung Electronics, LG Display, and Samsung Display.

InnoX Advanced Materials' provisional sales for the fourth quarter of last year increased by 66% year-on-year to 142.1 billion KRW, and operating profit rose by 169% year-on-year to 32.5 billion KRW. The operating profit margin for last year was 19.9%, up more than 4% compared to the previous year. Korea Investment & Securities noted that the company's fourth-quarter results last year met the recently raised market expectations.

Korea Investment & Securities analyzed that the increase in sales of foldable, touch panel, and OLED materials led to the strong performance. Researcher Jungwhan Kim of Korea Investment & Securities stated, "Last year's OLED material sales reached 177.2 billion KRW, an 82% increase compared to the previous year," adding, "The sales growth rate of materials is higher than the shipment growth rate of LG Display's OLED TV panels, suggesting that InnoX Advanced Materials' market share has risen."

Korea Investment & Securities forecasts that InnoX Advanced Materials will achieve a 20% operating profit margin this year. Researcher Kim predicted, "With a high operating rate of film facilities, this year's sales are expected to increase by 7% year-on-year to 521.3 billion KRW, and operating profit is expected to grow by 10% year-on-year to 106.4 billion KRW, continuing the profit growth trend," concluding, "InnoX Advanced Materials' operating profit margin is projected to be 20% this year."