[Special Stock] Unid's Stock Falls Over 4% Despite Record High Earnings

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] UNID is showing a downward trend despite recording its highest quarterly performance ever.

At 2:14 PM on the 25th, UNID was traded at 129,500 KRW, down 4.78% from the previous day. The stock price rose to an intraday high of 138,500 KRW but fell to 127,000 KRW after the earnings announcement.

Although the company's performance increased significantly, the stock price did not respond accordingly. UNID's first-quarter sales and operating profit were 370.433 billion KRW and 58.491 billion KRW, respectively, up 42.68% and 33.53% compared to the same period last year. Considering Hanwha Investment & Securities' first-quarter operating profit estimate of 48.1 billion KRW, the results greatly exceeded expectations.

UNID is the world's number one basic chemical materials company producing potassium hydroxide and potassium carbonate, which are used in agriculture, chemicals, and semiconductors, using potassium chloride as a raw material. The securities industry had anticipated that due to the war between Ukraine and Russia, competitors in China and India would face difficulties in securing potassium chloride, a raw material, while UNID, which has been stably sourcing potassium chloride from Canada, would benefit as a relative winner.