[Market Focus] iM Financial Group Surges on Strong Q1 Results...Hits Record High

iM Financial Group is showing strong performance on the back of robust first-quarter results. The stock hit a new 52-week high during intraday trading.

As of 9:40 a.m. on April 29, iM Financial Group was trading at 10,130 won on the Korea Exchange, up 480 won (4.97%) from the previous day. During intraday trading, the stock rose as high as 10,150 won, setting a new 52-week high.

On the previous day, iM Financial Group announced that its first-quarter net profit attributable to controlling shareholders was 154.3 billion won. This represents an increase of 38.1% compared to the same period last year.

Shinhan Investment & Securities analyst Eun Kyungwan commented, "iM Financial Group's first-quarter net profit attributable to controlling shareholders exceeded our estimate by 2.4% and the consensus (average of securities firms' forecasts) by 8.0%. The strong results were driven by a turnaround in iM Securities' performance and stable management of credit costs." He added, "With the resolution of risks related to real estate project financing (PF), which had previously weighed on both stock price and earnings, this year is expected to mark the first year of normalized performance after three years of declining profits." Shinhan Investment & Securities recommended iM Financial Group as its top pick in the banking sector.

Kim Doha, an analyst at Hanwha Investment & Securities, stated, "iM Financial Group not only outperformed consensus expectations, but also posted the largest improvement in capital ratio among bank stocks. We anticipate that the gap with competitors will narrow as the normalization of earnings progresses."