[Edaily Reporter kyoungeun kim ] On the 27th, HANWHA INVESTMENT & SECURITIES maintained its “Buy” rating and target price of 810,000 won for HyundaiMobis(012330), noting that structural improvements in profitability are evident despite an unfavorable macroeconomic environment. The current stock price is 482,000 won, representing an upside potential of 68%.
HyundaiMobis’ second-quarter revenue was 16.3 trillion won (up 2.4% year-over-year), falling short of market expectations, but operating profit came in significantly above market expectations at 975.2 billion won (up 12.2%).
Kim Seong-rae, an analyst at HANWHA INVESTMENT & SECURITIES, stated, “It is worth noting that the company maintained profitability in its modules and core components segments during the second quarter despite various adverse macroeconomic conditions.” He added, “While the improvement in the product mix in component manufacturing has been ongoing, the fact that it offset a 24 billion won operating loss resulting from a decline in finished vehicle volumes and a fire at the Indore plant in the second quarter, as well as a 60 billion won impact from rising costs related to electronic control systems such as memory, indicates that the scope of product mix improvement—including high-value-added automotive electronics components—is expanding.”
Researcher Kim cited the expansion of automotive electronics components as a key factor for improved performance in the second half of the year. He said, “In the second half, the adoption of the Pleos Connect platform will expand, particularly in volume models such as the Avante and Tucson, leading to increased application of high-value-added automotive electronics components,” adding, “This is expected to contribute to margin improvement and largely offset concerns regarding the operating loss at the Indian subsidiary in the third quarter and rising costs for memory and PCBs.”
He continued, “Although sales in the electrification division declined in the second quarter, they are expected to meet growth expectations in the second half driven by the expansion of new captive battery electric vehicles (BEVs) such as the EV2 and Ioniq 3.” He added, “Even excluding one-time effects such as tariff refunds, the after-sales service (A/S) division is expected to maintain its high-margin trend for the time being, as the 15% tariff and adjustments to selling prices continue to be reflected.”
The value of its stake in the robotics business was also highlighted. Following SoftBank’s exercise of its put option, HyundaiMobis’ indirect stake in BD (Boston Dynamics)—held through HMG Global—is expected to increase from 11.2% to 12.4%. Analyst Kim predicted, “With HyundaiMotor Group’s increased stake in BD, progress on the commercialization of Atlas using RMAC in August will accelerate further,” adding, “The viability of HyundaiMobis’ actuator business will become evident through the development and validation of mass-produced robots centered on RMAC.”
Regarding shareholder returns, he noted, “Half of this year’s shareholder returns have already been fulfilled through an interim dividend (1,500 won per share, totaling 133 billion won) and a share buyback and cancellation (500 billion won) in early August.”