[Click eStock] "Apro, Explosive Order Growth Expected Over the Next 3 Years"

Operating Profit Turns Positive This Year
Next Year Sales Expected to Increase by 61%, Operating Profit by 280%

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji Yeon-jin] Hana Securities forecasted on the 28th that A-Pro's order backlog will explosively increase over the next three years as Chinese-made equipment is excluded following the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

Kim Gyu-sang, a researcher at Hana Securities, stated, "Equipment stocks have shown the steepest rise in stock prices during periods of order increases. Considering that it takes about one year from order placement to revenue recognition for A-Pro, the stock price of A-Pro is expected to lead its earnings."

Until now, A-Pro has supplied activation process equipment to LG Energy Solution in a 50:50 ratio with China's Zhejiang Hangke Technology. However, due to the U.S.-China trade dispute and the IRA, exports of Chinese-made equipment to the U.S. have been blocked, leading A-Pro to supply all equipment from LG Energy Solution's U.S. joint venture Plant 1 (Ohio).

A-Pro announced orders worth a total of 97.1 billion KRW for Plant 1. Considering that the plant has a capacity of 35 GWh, it can be concluded that approximately 2.8 billion KRW per GWh was ordered. With expansions totaling 290 GWh planned in Tennessee, Michigan, and Arizona by 2025, it is analyzed that orders worth 812 billion KRW can be secured in the North American region alone.

Researcher Kim explained, "Since at least 50% of orders are possible in regions such as Indonesia, Korea, China, and Europe as before, A-Pro's order backlog is expected to explosively increase over the next three years," adding, "By securing charge-discharge technology, expansion into the used battery inspection business is also possible."

A-Pro's sales this year are expected to increase by 61.0% year-on-year to 99.1 billion KRW, with operating profit turning positive to 4.4 billion KRW. In 2023, when U.S. sales become full-fledged, sales are expected to increase by 61.2% to 159.7 billion KRW, and operating profit is forecasted to rise by 280.7% to 16.7 billion KRW.