[Click e-Stock] "Cosmax: Q4 Results Disappoint, But Signs of Improvement"

On the 24th, Samsung Securities maintained its "buy" investment opinion and target price of 235,000 won for Cosmax, saying that although last year's fourth-quarter results were disappointing, signs of improvement are being detected, including a recovery in orders from client companies.

Lee Gayoung, a researcher at Samsung Securities, said, "Cosmax's fourth-quarter sales and operating profit last year grew 8% and 3% year-on-year, respectively, to 601.0 billion won and 40.9 billion won," adding, "If one-off gains are excluded, operating profit would have been 34.8 billion won, roughly in line with our estimate, and would have represented a 13% year-on-year decline."

The researcher analyzed, "It was a quarter in which the performance of the Korean subsidiary was somewhat disappointing," adding, "Sales grew only 3.9%, and the operating margin, after excluding one-off factors, likely remained at around 8.3%."

However, she added, "It is fortunate that client orders have been recovering in the first quarter of this year," and said, "The Korean subsidiary is seeing large-volume orders from high-quality clients, and a gradual recovery is expected in Southeast Asia."

Regarding the Chinese subsidiary, the researcher explained, "Both Shanghai and Guangzhou are showing signs of recovery, with improvements in both sales and profit," adding, "In the fourth quarter, Shanghai sales grew 22.6% year-on-year and turned to a net profit." She offered a positive assessment, saying, "This is thanks to the inflow of local indie brand clients and the results of joint sales activities with the Korean subsidiary," and added that "Guangzhou has also turned to a net profit."