Heungkuk Securities analyzed on the 8th that Kolmar Korea is continuing to see strong orders for sun care products and has momentum benefiting from tariff advantages. It then raised its target price from 78,000 won to 84,000 won and maintained its investment opinion of 'buy.' Kolmar Korea's stock price at the end of the previous trading day was 64,500 won.
Heungkuk Securities estimated Kolmar Korea's separate sales and operating profit for the first quarter to be 291.4 billion won and 32.1 billion won, respectively. With the strong performance flow of domestic corporations in the first half and the expected increase in orders for sun care and basic products from the U.S. Plant 2 starting from the second quarter, this is projected to positively contribute to Kolmar Korea's mid-to-long-term growth.
Lee Ji-won, a Research Institute analyst at Heungkuk Securities, said, 'It is expected that the U.S. and Canadian branches will return to profitability and continue to incur losses, respectively, in the first quarter. Kolmar Korea has a characteristic of the separate branch's second-quarter operating margin peaking during the year, so strong orders for sun care products and favorable performance are also expected in the first half of this year.'
When Kolmar Korea's U.S. Plant 2 becomes operational, the annual production capacity (CAPA) is expected to significantly increase from 68 million to 190 million units. It is reported that Plant 2 has established a similar level of automation system as the Korean factory and is primarily operated to focus on high-margin original design manufacturing (ODM) orders.
The analyst noted, 'It is clear that the recent 26% mutual tariff imposed by the U.S. has certainly accelerated Kolmar Korea's ability to secure additional clients in the short term for the U.S. Plant 2.'
He then stated, 'Depending on the actual operating rate and increase in orders for the second plant in the future, we may be able to raise the performance estimates for the U.S. subsidiary.'