[Click eStock] "Humedics, 'Export Expansion,' Target Price Maintained"

Hana Securities maintained a buy rating and a target price of 53,000 KRW for HuMedics on the 21st, stating, "Despite temporary performance setbacks in the third quarter this year, growth will continue through export expansion and entry into new businesses." The closing price on the 18th was 31,800 KRW.

On the same day, Choi Jae-ho, a researcher at Hana Securities, stated, "HuMedics' third-quarter performance is expected to fall short of the market consensus with sales of 42.4 billion KRW and operating profit of 11 billion KRW. Sales increased by 6.8% compared to the same period last year, but operating profit decreased by 3.1%."

The cause of the performance decline is attributed to the replacement of key sales personnel during August and September. Researcher Choi said, "During this period, domestic distribution of fillers and Botox was not smooth," adding, "After hiring a sales director from a major domestic aesthetic company, distribution normalized from this month, and performance recovery is expected from the fourth quarter."

Noteworthy is the smooth progress in the export sector. The filler export amount, initially expected to surpass 10 billion KRW in the fourth quarter, is likely to exceed this from the third quarter. The contract manufacturing organization (CMO) business is also showing strong performance. Thanks to increased demand for antibiotics and cardiovascular products, prescription drugs are expected to record 10.2 billion KRW, a 52.1% increase compared to the previous year, while active pharmaceutical ingredients (2.7 billion KRW) and arthritis treatments (3.2 billion KRW) are expected to grow by 46.5% and 16.1%, respectively.

Researcher Choi explained, "We are expanding export countries to Russia and Southeast Asia," adding, "We plan to launch sea fillers in Brazil within this year, and aim to enter the U.S. market by starting clinical trials with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2025 and 2026." Along with the currently high-growth CMO business, significant sales are expected from the contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) business starting in 2026. According to the KOTRA Changsha Trade Center in China, HuMedics ranked third in the legal hyaluronic acid filler market in China in 2021 with a 12% market share, following LG (23%) and Allergan (17%).

Sales for this year are projected at 180.1 billion KRW, with operating profit at 50.1 billion KRW. Researcher Choi added, "These figures represent increases of 18.3% and 34.3%, respectively, compared to the same period last year," and noted, "Export prices are more than twice as high as domestic prices. Profitability improvement is also expected due to export expansion."