[Edaily Reporter Park Jung-Soo ] On the 28th, SamsungSecurities assessed that while the recovery in profitability at HANSSEM CO.,LTD.(009240)—driven by stabilized costs and an improved sales mix—is positive, further earnings improvement is limited due to a decline in housing transaction volumes and the supply of new homes. The firm maintained its “Neutral (HOLD)” investment rating and lowered the target price by 13.4% from 48,500 won to 42,000 won. The previous day’s closing price was 38,850 won.
Heo Jae-jun, an analyst at SamsungSecurities, stated, “While the improvement in profitability driven by cost stabilization and an improved revenue mix is positive, further growth requires growth in the Chonbang market,” adding, “For the time being, an unfavorable environment for both the B2C and B2B segments—such as a decline in housing transactions and the volume of new housing units—is inevitable.”
HANSSEM CO.,LTD.’s second-quarter consolidated revenue was 417.2 billion won, a 9.2% decrease year-over-year, while operating profit rose 400.0% to 11.3 billion won. Operating profit fell 6.8% short of the market consensus of 12.1 billion won. Although the B2C segment posted solid results, deteriorating profitability in the B2B segment held the company back.
The B2C segment posted revenue of 274.7 billion won, a 6.7% increase year-over-year, and returned to profitability with an operating profit of 11.2 billion won. The operating profit margin stood at 4.1%. This was driven by robust Rehouse sales, fueled by increased housing transactions prior to the May tax reform and an expanded share of premium products. However, home furnishing sales declined year-over-year in both online and offline channels.

The company projected that the improvement in B2C performance would slow in the second half of the year. Looking at weekly apartment transaction trends nationwide, transaction volumes—which had been robust through May—have been declining rapidly since July. SamsungSecurities predicted that, given the strong correlation between housing transaction volumes and HANSSEM CO.,LTD.’s B2C sales, the decline in transaction volumes would weigh on future performance.
The slump in the B2B segment was even more pronounced. Second-quarter revenue stood at 81.4 billion won, a 29.0% year-over-year decline, and the company posted an operating loss of 1.7 billion won, marking a shift into the red. The operating margin fell to a record low of minus (-) 2.1%. As revenue continued to decline due to a slowdown in the new home occupancy market, the loss widened for the fourth consecutive quarter.
Analyst Heo stated, “Given the slow recovery in the volume of permits and approvals amid the recent trend of interest rate hikes, the move-in market is expected to remain sluggish for the time being,” adding, “The difficult business conditions in the B2B sector are also bound to persist.”
SamsungSecurities estimates that HANSSEM CO.,LTD.’s revenue for this year will be 1.7019 trillion won, a 2.4% decrease year-over-year, while operating profit will rise 98.9% to 36.8 billion won. The firm expects third-quarter operating profit to reach 7.2 billion won, a modest 4.5% increase year-over-year.
Analyst Heo explained, “There is a high likelihood that the pace of earnings recovery in the second half will slow due to Nexus merger costs and increased marketing expenditures,” adding, “We have lowered the target price to 42,000 won to reflect the downward revision of earnings estimates.”