Yuanta Securities analyzed on the 11th that Global Tax Free's stock price could recover to 2019 levels this year due to improved performance. No investment opinion or target price was provided.
Yuanta Securities expects Global Tax Free's standalone sales and operating profit this year to increase by 66% and 103% year-on-year to 80 billion KRW and 16 billion KRW, respectively. Researcher Lee Seung-eun of Yuanta Securities said, "The domestic and French subsidiaries are expected to see sales growth due to an increase in tourists," adding, "This is because of changes to the domestic tax refund system in 2024."
He explained, "Although there was a decline in foreign tourists in Korea after October 2023, it appears that the recovery phase began from the Lunar New Year in February this year," and "Since March, consumption at tax-free stores by Japanese and Southeast Asian tourists has been increasing."
He added, "In France, the influx of Asian tourists has significantly increased, and sales growth is notably evident due to increased consumption of high-end products."
Along with the continued increase in tourists, he also expected the stock price to recover to past peak levels. He emphasized, "Despite the Chinese government's lifting of the ban on group tours to Korea on August 10, 2023, the number of Chinese group tourists has not rapidly recovered compared to 2019, resulting in a 27% decline from the peak," and "Considering the average price-to-earnings ratio (PER) of 25 times in 2019 and the growth rate of foreign tourists in Korea and France in 2024, it is judged that the stock price can recover to the 2019 level."
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