[Click eStock] "Spigen Korea, One-Time Improvement Expected in Earnings"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] IBK Investment & Securities maintained a neutral investment opinion and a target price of 50,000 KRW for Spigen Korea on the 11th, citing a lack of new growth drivers and the possibility that earnings improvement may be temporary.

Researcher Lee Geon-jae of IBK Investment & Securities explained, "The company, which directly sells smartphone cases and protective film accessories globally through the Amazon platform, showed a high operating profit margin of 33.9% during the early smartphone adoption phase," but added, "However, as competing companies emerged rapidly and Amazon's policies changed unfavorably for Spigen Korea, the profit margin has continuously declined."

Spigen Korea's expected sales and operating profit for this year are projected at 435.6 billion KRW and 54.4 billion KRW, respectively, representing increases of 21.3% and 13% compared to the previous year. However, due to the lack of new growth drivers, this earnings improvement is analyzed to be temporary.

The researcher stated, "While the company possesses the capability to utilize Amazon, the world's largest global distribution platform, making entry into new businesses feasible, the absence of new growth drivers has persisted for a long time," and "earnings improvement without clear new growth drivers is likely to be temporary, making it difficult to attract market attention until new drivers are secured," he added. He further noted, "the dividend policy has also retreated for two consecutive years, showing a significant gap from market expectations."