[Market Focus] Hansol Chemical Rises on Strong Q1 Earnings

As of 9:40 a.m. on May 15, shares of Hansol Chemical were trading at 127,000 won on the Korea Exchange, up 5.92% from the previous closing price. This appears to be due to the company's first-quarter earnings report, released the previous day, which exceeded market consensus for both revenue and operating profit.

Hansol Chemical produces and sells a range of fine chemical products, including hydrogen peroxide used in semiconductors, displays, paper, and textiles; sodium dithionite used in textiles; and BPO, which is mainly used as a polymerization initiator in polymer synthesis.

According to the consolidated financial statements announced the previous day, first-quarter revenue was 209.6 billion won and operating profit was 41.7 billion won, both surpassing the market consensus of 203.1 billion won and 40.2 billion won, respectively.

DB Securities projected that Hansol Chemical's revenue and operating profit for this year would reach 833.9 billion won and 152.5 billion won, respectively. The brokerage cited the expansion of QD low-cost TV lines by client companies, increased supply of precursors to clients in Greater China and North America, and higher supply of secondary battery binders to China as the reasons. These figures represent increases of 7% and 18% compared to last year. The target stock price was also raised from 150,000 won to 160,000 won.