[Click eStock] "POSCO International Expands Secondary Battery Material Business... Target Price Up"

Kiwoom Securities raised the target price for POSCO International from 33,000 KRW to 40,000 KRW on the 7th.

POSCO International is expected to record an operating profit of approximately 303.1 billion KRW in the second quarter of this year, surpassing the market estimate of 278.2 billion KRW. Although the power generation segment's performance is expected to slow down in the seasonally weak second quarter compared to the first quarter, strong results in the trading segment due to improved performance of the Myanmar gas field and robust sales of energy-use steel to Europe are anticipated to lead to continued strong performance following the first quarter.

In particular, after merging with POSCO Energy at the beginning of the year, the market capitalization has grown to the 5 trillion KRW level due to steady stock price increases since April. Last month, POSCO International was also included in the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) index, reflecting positive market evaluations following the merger. Additionally, in April, the POSCO Group announced a mid-to-long-term plan to expand its market capitalization to 2.3 trillion KRW by 2030, focusing on eco-friendly energy businesses.

Kiwoom Securities highlighted POSCO International's role as a 'procurement channel' that will stably supply secondary battery materials and raw materials to group companies. Researcher Jonghyung Lee of Kiwoom Securities stated, "Starting this year, POSCO International plans to supply 30% of POSCO Future M's lithium hydroxide demand, and from last month, it has signed a 25-year supply contract with a graphite mine in Tanzania to support anode material production," adding, "We are raising the target price from the perspective of strengthening mid-to-long-term growth potential, including the expansion of supply functions due to the group's secondary battery materials business growth."