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[Alpha Biz=(Chicago) Reporter Paul Lee] Samsung Securities lowered its investment opinion on Hyundai Autoever from 'buy' to 'neutral' on the 29th. This is because the sales growth rate of the software (SW) division has slowed and the R & D cost has increased, which is expected to lead to poor performance. The target price remained at 200,000 won.
"Hyundai AutoEver has an environment for high growth by building Hyundai Motor Group's digital infrastructure," Samsung Securities said. "Its performance will be low due to a slowdown in navigation sales, which were driving profitability, and an increase in R & D manpower at overseas subsidiaries."
"Hyundai Motor and Kia have conservatively presented their sales targets for this year, and Hyundai Autoever's sales growth rate is expected to fall below market expectations," Samsung Securities said. "If sales in key markets such as the U.S. and India are strong, expectations for Hyundai Autoever's earnings will rise again in the first quarter."
Hyundai Autoever's fourth-quarter earnings fell 8% on-year to KRW 899.4 billion and operating profit fell 9% to KRW 52.9 billion, below market expectations. Samsung Securities analyzed that profitability did not meet expectations due to R & D spending and recruitment.
Hyundai Autoever has set this year's sales target at 3.46 trillion won. The figure is up 12.9 percent from last year. Researcher Lim believes that sales of smart factories and cloud billing services will determine whether or not to achieve their goals.
Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
