[Edaily Reporter Kwon Oh Seok ] DS Investment & Securities announced on the 13th that it is maintaining its “Buy” rating on SKoceanplant(100090)but lowering its target price from 25,000 won to 19,000 won.

Ahn Ju-won, an analyst at DS Investment & Securities, stated, “The target price reduction is due to a earnings gap,” but added, “The company is expected to continue securing new orders this year for merchant ships and offshore wind turbine foundations. However, with the exception of small tankers, revenue recognition for offshore wind projects and large merchant ships will not begin in earnest until 2028.”
He believes that, given the current delays in the domestic Anma offshore wind project and the fact that revenue recognition for new orders is still some time away, both revenue and operating profit are likely to decline through next year.
Analyst Ahn stated, “For the stock price to rebound in the future, the sale issue must be resolved, and news of the start of construction on the Anma offshore wind project is needed,” adding, “This must be supported by the rapid progress of domestic offshore wind projects.”
Second-quarter earnings were solid. Although revenue declined year-over-year due to a decrease in sales of special-purpose vessels, the company recorded an operating profit margin of 11.3% as the share of high-margin offshore wind substructure sales increased. He explained, “The projects currently driving offshore wind revenue are Taiwan’s Formosa 4 (303.2 billion won) and Pengmiao (394.1 billion won).”
He added, “These two projects are scheduled to be completed in October of this year and March of next year, respectively, so the amount of revenue recognized is expected to decrease starting in the second half of the year,” and noted, “We expect the order for the Wando Geumil offshore wind project, which we had hoped to secure domestically, to be awarded next year.”
Last July, the company secured an order for jacket structures for a substation in an offshore wind project in the German North Sea. Analyst Ahn emphasized, “This is significant as it marks our first contract win in Europe, beyond the domestic and Taiwanese markets. We expect additional orders before the end of the year, and the expansion of our market reach in the offshore wind sector is a positive development.”
He added, “We also expect continued supply contracts for profitable merchant vessels (both small and large). In particular, as orders to replace aging fleets that have reached their replacement cycle are expected to increase, we anticipate a steady influx of orders for merchant vessels.”