[Edaily Reporter Kwon Oh Seok ] NH INVESTMENT & SECURITIES announced on the 11th that it expects a turnaround in the housing division’s earnings for XI S&D(317400), driven by construction projects set to begin in earnest this year. However, the firm did not provide an investment recommendation or a target price.

Kang Kyung-geun, an analyst at NH INVESTMENT & SECURITIES, said, “Of the nine projects scheduled to break ground in 2026, four sites are set to begin construction in the first half of the year, with an additional four to five sites scheduled to start in the second half,” adding “Construction will continue with 12 sites in 2027 and 9 in 2028, and the number of sites at year-end is expected to increase to △4 in 2025, △12 in 2026, △24 in 2027, and △29 in 2028,” he analyzed.
He continued, “The order backlog at the end of the first half of 2026 stood at 2.3412 trillion won, the highest level since 2022,” and predicted, “Profitability will accelerate as the progress of sites already under construction in the second half begins to be fully reflected in earnings and the burden of bad debt eases.”
He also anticipated that momentum in the data center business would strengthen. He noted, “Based on LG Corp.’s captive demand, we have accumulated top-tier domestic references. Our cumulative data center order book stands at 9 projects totaling 517 MW,” he explained, adding, “We are currently constructing LG Uplus’s Paju Data Center Building 1 (51 MW, scheduled for completion in June 2027) and Naver’s ‘Gak Sejong’ Phases 2 and 3 (88 MW, scheduled for sequential completion in 2027 and 2029).”
The company added, “We expect to secure orders for the remaining portions of the LG Uplus Paju (149 MW) and Naver ‘Gak Sejong’ (135 MW) projects, as well as the GS Holdings Donghae Project totaling 2.4 GW (1.2 GW in 2028 and 1.2 GW in 2029).”
The company projected this year’s revenue at 1.56 trillion won (up 12.4% year-over-year) and operating profit at 55 billion won (up 340.0%, with an operating profit margin of 3.5%). Analyst Kang elaborated, “Earnings growth next year will accelerate due to an increase in the number of residential construction sites (from 12 to 24) and the expanded inclusion of data center revenue,” adding, “The company maintained a stable financial structure with net cash of 300 billion won as of the end of the first half of 2026.”