[Click eStock] "Socar, Carsharing Profit Improvement"

DS Investment & Securities analyzed on the 30th that Socar is progressing with its '2.0 strategy' as planned.

Socar recorded sales of 90.6 billion KRW and an operating loss of 10.8 billion KRW in the first quarter. Sales increased by 5.7% compared to the same period last year, while the deficit widened.

Daehyung Cho, a researcher at DS Investment & Securities, explained, "Sales from used car sales decreased from 11.8 billion KRW in the same period last year to 0.3 billion KRW in the first quarter of this year," adding, "Car-sharing sales increased by 24.1% year-on-year to 83.8 billion KRW."

He continued, "The point at which deferred used car sales will fully resume to organically link short-term car-sharing and Socar Plan is expected to be next year," adding, "the strategic effect of maximizing the vehicle and user lifetime value (LTV) is becoming visible."

He estimated, "This year, sales will reach 440.9 billion KRW and operating profit will be 0.4 billion KRW," adding, "Sales will increase by 10.6% compared to last year, and operating profit will turn positive."

Researcher Cho predicted, "Due to the deferral of used car sales performance and increased costs from expanded marketing, a slight operating profit turnaround is expected this year," and "Profitability in the car-sharing sector will steadily improve." Furthermore, he analyzed, "Investment results for Socar 2.0 are being confirmed," adding, "With Socar Plan increasing to an average of 6,800 vehicles in the first quarter of this year, the car-sharing profit margin rose by 2.6 percentage points (p) compared to the same period last year."