[Click eStock] "POSCO Holdings Reflects Lithium Business Value... Target Price Up 25%"

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] Korea Investment & Securities maintained a buy rating on POSCO Holdings on the 2nd and raised the target price by 25% to 400,000 KRW. This reflects the value of the lithium business.

Choi Moon-sun, a researcher at Korea Investment & Securities, said, "The new investment attraction point of POSCO Holdings is the lithium business," adding, "Regarding steel, the company emphasized a strategy to strengthen high-grade steel, but quantitative growth is difficult, so it is an inevitable and not new choice."

The POSCO Group is producing lithium using all existing methods. POSCO Argentina produces lithium from brine, POSCO Pilbara Lithium Solutions from lithium ore, and POSCO HY Clean Metal through recycling. To this end, raw materials such as salt lakes, ore, and recycled materials are also secured.

POSCO HY Clean Metal started operating its first plant from the first quarter of 2023 and will begin sales from the third quarter. POSCO Pilbara Lithium Solutions and POSCO Argentina plan to complete production facilities of 43,000 tons and 25,000 tons in the second half of next year and the year after, respectively. In 2025, an additional 25,000-ton facility will be added to POSCO Argentina. Ultimately, by 2026, POSCO Group's lithium production capacity will reach 100,000 tons annually, ranking fourth in the world for lithium production based on 2020 data.

Researcher Choi Moon-sun evaluated, "Lithium produced by POSCO will officially start to be supplied to the market next year," and "Lithium production capacity will improve annually until 2025, and lithium momentum will drive the stock price for the next three years."