[Featured Stock] Will Earnings Rebound... OCI Holdings Rises

As of 9:30 AM on the 27th, OCI Holdings' stock price is recorded at 83,900 KRW, up 7.15% from the previous closing price. This appears to be driven by recent news of a joint venture establishment in the United States and expectations of improved first-quarter earnings.

OCI Holdings' stock price had fallen to the 50,000 KRW range last December due to a sharp decline in net profit last year and a management dispute at Hanmi Pharm. Since January this year, the stock price has started to rise again, influenced by the Trump administration's solar power blockade policy against China.

At the same time, the company announced the expansion of its U.S. projects.

OCI Holdings announced on the 24th that on the 20th (local time), its U.S. subsidiary OCI Energy signed an agreement to establish a 260MW scale joint venture (JV) for the Sunroper project in Texas with Israeli solar power company Arava Power. Arava Power operates multiple solar power and energy storage system (ESS) projects in Israel and the United States.

The joint venture shares are held 50% each by OCI Energy and Arava Power. The project development is to be completed by the end of 2026, with profits from operation and future sales shared.

Lee Woo-hyun, Chairman of OCI Holdings, stated, "OCI Energy has grown into the number one company with a 15% market share in the solar power generation and development market in Texas, USA," adding, "This year, we will expand the solar power generation business to regions other than Texas to create new revenue."

The securities industry is expressing expectations for improved earnings.

On the 25th, DB Financial Investment raised OCI Holdings' target stock price from 90,000 KRW to 96,000 KRW. They expect the first-quarter operating profit to turn positive to 33.6 billion KRW compared to the previous quarter.

Analyst Han Seung-jae analyzed, "Based on a strong financial structure, shareholder returns are being strengthened, and earnings are also expected to gradually improve."