[Edaily Reporter kyoungeun kim ] NH INVESTMENT & SECURITIES announced on the 28th that it is maintaining its “Buy” rating on SamsungHeavyIndustries(010140)while lowering the target price by 6% from the previous level to 32,000 won. Although the target price was lowered to reflect the limited upside potential for merchant ship prices, the firm believes there is a buying opportunity at current levels, given the reduced valuation pressure and the fact that the floating data center business—a new growth driver—has entered the implementation phase.
Jeong Yeon-seung, an analyst at NH INVESTMENT & SECURITIES, stated in a report released that day, “We have lowered the long-term growth rate from 1.0% to 0.5% and, reflecting this, adjusted the target price-to-book ratio (Target PBR) downward to 3.4 times,” adding, “We have factored into the valuation the limited upside potential for dollar-denominated ship prices of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, which are the main vessel types for Korean shipbuilders.”
He continued, “Despite the downward revision to the target price, the current stock price has fallen to a 2028 projected price-to-earnings ratio (PER) of 10.0x, representing the lowest valuation pressure among major domestic shipbuilders,” and explained, “A future turnaround in the stock price will depend on whether the company secures actual orders for floating data centers—a new growth driver—and whether these lead to follow-on orders.”
SamsungHeavyIndustries is currently in negotiations with U.S.-based Mousterian to build two 50-megawatt (MW) floating data centers and has entered the detailed design phase. The two companies signed an engineering contract on August 3, marking the start of the project’s implementation phase. Given the target of commencing operations in the first half of 2028, it is highly likely that the main contract will be signed by the end of 2026. Utilizing Dock 2, which is scheduled to resume operations in 2026, the company will be able to build two units annually, and it is expected to be able to scale up production further depending on market demand.
Medium- to long-term profitability is expected to show a quarterly improvement trend through 2028, driven by rising unit prices for vessels under construction and favorable contract exchange rates. To date, the company has secured $5.8 billion in commercial ship orders and $4.5 billion in offshore orders, exceeding the annual order target for the commercial ship segment; additional orders for LNG carriers, tankers, and floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) production facilities are expected during the remainder of the year.
Analyst Jeong stated, “If floating data centers are standardized as modular products and lead to repeat orders, the company can secure high profitability,” adding, “If the initial project secures a stream of follow-on orders, it will become a new growth driver that can boost the utilization rate of Dock 2 while improving company-wide profitability.”