[Featured Stock] CJ Freshway Earnings Growth Expectations... Up Over 6%

On the morning of the 20th, CJ Freshway's stock price showed a strong gain of over 6%. This appears to be driven by securities firms' forecasts that its earnings will grow significantly this year.

As of 9:42 AM on the 20th, CJ Freshway's stock price rose 6.54% from the previous day to 22,000 KRW.

This is interpreted as a result of securities firms' expectations for earnings growth this year. IBK Investment & Securities projected that CJ Freshway will achieve sales of 780.3 billion KRW and an operating profit of 11.1 billion KRW in the first quarter. These figures represent increases of 6.7% and 5.7%, respectively, compared to the same period last year. Despite a sluggish dining-out market, the company is expected to continue the growth trend that began in the fourth quarter of last year.

Nam Sung-hyun, a researcher at IBK Investment & Securities, said, "The first quarter typically has a high proportion of fixed costs, so profit growth rates are seen as low, but considering the seasonal peak in the second quarter and the base effect from last year's downturn, the growth rate is likely to expand again. Franchise sales continue to increase, and as the dining-out ingredient market shifts to a C&D model where ingredient distributors place orders and receive deliveries, CJ Freshway, which provides total solutions, could strengthen its market dominance."