[Click eStock] "Robotis, Actuator Module Performance and New Business Expectations"

Eugene Investment & Securities Report

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] Eugene Investment & Securities has issued a buy rating and a target price of 26,000 KRW for Robotis.

Robotis positions its actuator module lineup, Dynamixel, a robot driving component, as its main product. Dynamixel has been recognized for its product competitiveness by being selected as a world-class product. It accounts for half of the company's sales, and in the first quarter of this year, sales reached 6.3 billion KRW due to strong demand. Operating losses narrowed to 300 million KRW compared to the same period last year.

This year's full-year performance is expected to record sales of 26.3 billion KRW and an operating loss of 1 billion KRW. The increase in robot demand and the growing demand for automation equipment within the industry are predicted to provide a stable performance base through actuator sales.

The indoor autonomous driving robot, which succeeded in commercialization last year, is gaining recognition as it is being introduced one after another in major domestic hotels. This year, a business agreement on robot distribution was signed with the Korea Hotel Association, and full-scale commercialization is expected. The company plans to launch a robot rental service within the year to expand its business model to RaaS.

The company aims to sell about 3,000 indoor autonomous driving robots by 2024 not only to hotels but also to hospitals and restaurants. This is a level that can be sufficiently achieved considering the service robot market environment. The successful commercialization of the reducer, a core robot component, is also noteworthy. With performance growth due to business expansion, sales of 51.6 billion KRW and operating profit of 8.9 billion KRW are expected in 2024.

Outdoor autonomous driving robots have also been successfully developed. Currently, driving on roads and sidewalks is prohibited under laws such as the Road Traffic Act, but regulations are expected to be eased as early as 2023. Seungyun Yang, a researcher at Eugene Investment & Securities, said, “We are conducting numerous demonstration experiments using regulatory sandboxes,” and added, “When regulations are relaxed, we expect to secure a leading position in the domestic outdoor autonomous driving robot market based on abundant know-how.” He also mentioned, “We are promoting cooperation with U.S. logistics companies, so the possibility of overseas expansion is high.”