[Featured Stock] Samsung Heavy Industries Soars on Profitability Boost, Hits Intraday 52-Week High

Improved Business Conditions Boost Profitability Expectations
Annual Order Target 40% Achieved in 1Q
'Winter of Shipbuilding' Ends... Supercycle Optimism Grows

Samsung Heavy Industries recorded a 52-week intraday high. This appears to reflect expectations of improved profitability along with an upturn in market conditions.

As of 1:53 PM on the 18th, Samsung Heavy Industries was trading at 9,470 KRW, up 8.98% (780 KRW) from the previous day. The stock price surpassed 9,000 KRW in the morning and continued its upward trend in the afternoon, reaching a high of 9,490 KRW. This surpassed the 52-week high of 9,470 KRW recorded in August last year.

Samsung Heavy Industries achieved 38% of its annual order target in the first quarter alone. It secured orders for a total of 17 vessels, including 15 LNG carriers and 2 ammonia carriers. First-quarter sales are estimated at 2.3 trillion KRW, a 43% increase year-on-year, and operating profit is estimated at 82.7 billion KRW, up 323% from the previous year.

Brokerages expect profitability to improve even more clearly from the second quarter onward. Jeong Yeonseung, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities, said, "In the second quarter, FLNG will complete the design phase and enter the construction phase, leading to increased offshore sales. Profitability in the commercial ship segment is expected to level up from the second half of the year as the volume of low-profit container ship construction decreases. This year's expected operating profit is projected to exceed the guidance by about 12%."

Meanwhile, stock prices in the shipbuilding sector are showing an upward trend due to consecutive order announcements. Unlike last year, when gloomy terms like "long-term recession" and "winter of shipbuilding" were used, there is talk of a "super cycle" due to favorable ship orders and export performance, the yen exchange rate, and external factors such as the US-China conflict. On this day, HD Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (9.81%), Hanwha Ocean (14.31%), HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (9.52%), HD Hyundai Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (5.61%), and HJ Heavy Industries (2.76%) showed gains.