Korea Investment & Securities announced on May 18 that PSK is expected to experience strong performance growth momentum this year and in the medium to long term, as both top-line and bottom-line figures continue to grow. The firm raised its target price for PSK to 160,000 won, an increase of 21%, while maintaining a "buy" rating.
Kim Yeon-jun, a researcher at Korea Investment & Securities, stated, "This year, we can expect benefits from the capital expenditures of Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron, as well as the resumption of investments by China's CXMT."
He added, "This trend is likely to lead to new fab investments, further strengthening PSK's performance growth momentum."
Additionally, he noted, "As demand for AI inference spreads into the CPU market, Intel, which has been conservative with its capital expenditures, may increase its CapEx. Intel has signed a consulting contract with Tesla, which is pursuing a terafab, suggesting a strong connection between Intel's value chain and Tesla's terafab value chain."
Kim also analyzed that, given PSK's long-standing partnership with Intel, the company is likely to seek additional opportunities through Intel.
According to Korea Investment & Securities, PSK's revenue for the first quarter of this year was 156.6 billion won, with an operating profit of 47.2 billion won, exceeding consensus estimates by 19.8% and 46.5%, respectively. The operating profit margin reached 30.1%, an increase of 7.9 percentage points year-on-year and 14.8 percentage points quarter-on-quarter.
Kim explained, "With steady orders from domestic and overseas clients, the top line has grown, and the proportion of high ASP clients in the U.S. and China has improved the operating profit margin. The share of overseas clients is expected to remain similar to that of the first quarter throughout the year, indicating that operating profit margins will continue to improve annually."
He also stated, "This year, top-line growth is expected to exceed the average growth rate of 30% for the World Federation of Exchanges, along with improvements in profitability due to the increased share of overseas clients."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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