[Feature Stock] Halla Cast Surges Over 12% on Highlighted Growth Prospects from Autonomous Driving and Robotics

Shares of Halla Cast, a company specializing in lightweight materials and components, surged on December 24. The stock's strong performance is attributed to expectations of structural benefits from expanding demand in the automotive sector and the company's entry into humanoid robot components, which have highlighted prospects for earnings growth next year.

As of 9:21 a.m. on this day, Halla Cast was trading at 18,890 won, up 2,120 won (12.64%) from the previous trading day.

Kim Ayoung, a researcher at Daishin Securities, described Halla Cast as a "structural beneficiary of expanding demand for lightweight material components driven by vehicle electrification and the advancement of autonomous driving."

Kim explained, "The company has secured mid- to long-term growth momentum through an order worth 118.6 billion won from a global artificial intelligence (AI) automotive company and by entering the humanoid robot component market. The humanoid robot sector is also a representative market where requirements for lightweighting, structural rigidity, heat dissipation, and electromagnetic shielding are all increasing simultaneously. There is potential for mid- to long-term growth in demand for high-difficulty magnesium-based structural components."

She added, "This year, growth is expected to be limited due to the base effect of certain large projects and adjustments to production schedules by global clients. However, starting next year, as new mass production projects begin in earnest, performance improvement based on the order backlog is expected to become more visible."