[Click e-Stock] "Hyundai E&C Expected to Deliver Tangible Results in U.S. Nuclear Market"

On January 19, LS Securities recommended Hyundai Engineering & Construction as its "top pick" in the sector, citing expectations for tangible results from the emerging U.S. nuclear power market. The target price was raised from 940,000 won to 1.4 million won.

Kim Saeryeon, an analyst at LS Securities, explained, "The two 300MW small modular reactors (SMRs) at the Palisades site in the U.S., being developed in partnership with Holtec, could begin construction as early as the first quarter."

She continued, "For the Fermi Project 'Matador,' the feed for the four 4GW large-scale nuclear power plants, which are the core power source, could transition to EPC around the summer. In addition to the U.S., the two large-scale nuclear power plants in Bulgaria, whose schedule has been pushed to the end of the year due to financing issues, also represent a significant order backlog to watch."

She emphasized, "Since the completion of the Vogtle nuclear power plant, there has been a gap in new nuclear construction in the U.S., so depending on the government's commitment to investing in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, collaboration with Korean companies will ultimately become inevitable."

Kim analyzed, "Last year, Hyundai Engineering & Construction made swift preparations for a strategic response to the U.S. market by recruiting a former vice president from Westinghouse."

She estimated that in the fourth quarter of last year, Hyundai Engineering & Construction achieved sales of 7.8289 trillion won and operating profit of 101.4 billion won. Compared to the same period the previous year, sales increased by 8.0%, and operating profit turned positive.