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Photo = Samsung SDI |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Sangjin] IBK Securities downgraded Samsung SDI's target price to 400,000 KRW from 600,000 KRW, forecasting the company to report a quarterly loss in Q4 for the first time since Q1 of 2017. Despite the downgrade, the firm maintained its "Buy" rating.
IBK Securities projected a 4.7% decline in the medium and large EV segment, estimating it will reach 1.9 trillion KRW due to reduced demand from European OEMs, despite the start of mass production in December through the joint venture with Stellantis, Starplus Energy.
For the small battery division, IBK expects a 7.5% drop from the previous quarter to 900 billion KRW due to weak deliveries to Rivian and delayed demand recovery for power tools. They noted that the overall business performance, excluding energy storage systems (ESS), would remain sluggish, with inventory evaluations and quality provision costs contributing to the loss.
IBK forecast Samsung SDI's Q4 2023 revenue to decrease by 2.2% from the previous quarter to 3.849 trillion KRW, expecting an operating loss of 1.74 trillion KRW, far below the market estimate of a 580 billion KRW loss.
IBK further stated that momentum for a recovery in 2024 will be limited, with the weak performance of the small battery segment expected to persist for an extended period, and recovery in medium and large EV demand also expected to be delayed.
Alphabiz Reporter Kim SangJin(letyou@alphabiz.co.kr)
