[Click eStock] "Nongshim, 'High Export Growth'... Target Price Maintained"

Hana Securities maintained a buy rating and a target price of 540,000 KRW for Nongshim on the 12th, stating that "the high growth trend in exports continues."

On the same day, Eunju Shim, a researcher at Hana Securities, said, "Nongshim, which started direct transactions with Walmart in the United States about 20 years ago, is expected to visibly move to the 'main section' in the fourth quarter of this year."

The Walmart main section is expected to have about five times more shelf space compared to the existing Asian section. Researcher Shim said, "Simply by expanding the shelf space, sales in the Americas are expected to increase by about 10% compared to before," adding, "As of this year, North American production capacity and expected sales are estimated at 930 billion KRW and 650 billion KRW, respectively."

The high growth trend in exports is also continuing. Researcher Shim said, "With the reinforcement of the export line earlier this year, it is judged that sufficient production capacity has been secured until the first half of next year," and "Export volume in the third quarter also appears to have grown by about 30% compared to the same period last year." Considering North American production capacity, sales expansion in 'Mexico' is also expected to accelerate.

The new factory is being constructed on approximately 15,500 pyeong of idle land next to the existing Busan Noksan factory. It is scheduled to be completed in the first half of 2026 and will begin full-scale production from the second half. After completion, Nongshim's annual export production capacity is expected to increase from 500 million units to 1 billion units. Subsequently, exports to Oceania and Africa are expected to be actively pursued.

Researcher Shim estimated, "Next year's consolidated sales and operating profit are expected to increase by 6.7% and 8.6% respectively from this year, reaching 3.7761 trillion KRW and 235.9 billion KRW," adding, "Overseas subsidiaries and exports will drive growth. Growth of the North American subsidiary in the fourth quarter is expected to be remarkable."