[Click eStock] "Korean Air, Strong Performance Expected Throughout the Year... Top Pick in the Industry"

On the 28th, LS Securities named Korean Air as the top pick within the airline industry, expecting strong performance throughout the year. They maintained a 'Buy' rating and a target price of 30,000 KRW.

LS Securities forecasted that Korean Air's standalone Q3 results would show revenue of 4.2908 trillion KRW, up 11.1% year-on-year, and operating profit of 557.9 billion KRW, up 7.2% during the same period.

Researcher Lee Jae-hyuk of LS Securities stated, "Although passenger fares likely declined slightly due to intensified competition on short-haul routes, considering the downward stabilization of jet fuel prices, the profit resilience is expected to have strengthened. Cargo is also expected to benefit from favorable market conditions," adding, "With supply instability from the Red Sea supporting the market boom, the strong performance in air cargo is expected to continue for the time being."

Lee further commented, "The industry's comparative advantage in performance is expected to persist into Q4. Although the upward trend in fares on short-haul routes, including Japan, has somewhat eased since Q2, the fare boom on major routes such as North America and Europe remains steady. Additionally, the air cargo market is currently at a point where seasonality in Q4 is more prominent than usual across the global air cargo market, driven by the boom in Chinese e-commerce platforms (C-commerce). Therefore, high fare market conditions are expected to continue for the foreseeable future."