[Click eStock] "EcoPro BM, Strong Demand Increase... Target Price Up 4%"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] KB Securities maintained its 'Buy' rating on EcoPro BM on the 12th and raised the target price by 4% from the previous 172,500 KRW to 180,000 KRW.

EcoPro BM's Q3 performance this year is expected to record sales of 1.5337 trillion KRW and operating profit of 125.3 billion KRW. This represents a 276% and 208% increase compared to the same period last year, respectively, and is expected to exceed consensus. Demand for cathode materials from the two major customers, Samsung SDI and SK On, is expected to remain solid, with both price and volume projected to rise.

Based on this, the steep performance growth trend is expected to continue next year as well. EcoPro BM's 2023 performance is forecasted to reach sales of 6.6767 trillion KRW and operating profit of 572.1 billion KRW, representing increases of 37% and 47% year-on-year, respectively.

The basis for this includes ▲ continued expansion of shipments of NCA / NCM cathode materials with strong demand ▲ advancement of the overall schedule for new line operations, leading to growth exceeding market expectations.

Lee Chang-min, a researcher at KB Securities, analyzed, "The rise in average selling prices (ASP) due to increases in key metal prices such as nickel, the enactment of the US Infrastructure Act, and China's CATL abandoning investment in the US are expected to bring mid- to long-term benefits to the locally producible battery value chain."