[Edaily Reporter Park Jung-Soo ] On the 2nd, SamsungSecurities projected that VITZROCELL Co., Ltd.(082920)would be able to return to normal operations quickly, as the production building was unaffected by the fire at the battery storage warehouse in its Dangjin plant. The firm maintained its “Buy” investment rating but lowered the target price by 14.0% from the previous 43,000 won to 37,000 won. The closing price on the 1st was 27,000 won.
Jang Jeong-hoon, an analyst at SamsungSecurities, explained, “A fire broke out at the VITZROCELL Co., Ltd. Dangjin plant at 8:00 a.m. on the 31st of last month and was reportedly extinguished by 3:30 p.m.” He added, “The production building and the warehouse building are separate structures, and the fire occurred in one of the two warehouse buildings.” Although the warehouse where the fire occurred stored military-grade wound batteries and other items, internal partition walls were in place, so product damage is believed to be limited to a small portion.
The company does not anticipate any disruptions to production. Since the fire occurred in a storage warehouse separate from the production building, the company expects to resume normal operations starting today. The Dangjin plant has an annual production capacity of 92 million cells.
Notably, VITZROCELL Co., Ltd. recently opened a “BoT Center” capable of producing lithium-ion capacitors (LIC), VHC, and electric double-layer capacitors (EDLC)—batteries for artificial intelligence data centers (AIDC)—as well as Li/CFx-MnO2 batteries for military drones, and has announced plans for further expansion. The company plans to invest 75 billion won in the BoT Center from this year through next year, with an additional 30 billion won to be invested in 2028–2029 and 17 billion won in 2030–2031.
SamsungSecurities maintained its existing earnings forecast, as the extent of direct damage from the fire has not yet been determined. The reduction in the target price was not due to the impact of the fire on earnings, but rather because the average price-to-earnings ratio (PER) of comparable secondary battery companies—used to calculate the target price—fell by 14% from 40.3x to 34x.
The target price was calculated by applying a target price-to-earnings ratio (PER) of 17x to next year’s projected earnings per share (EPS) of 2,147 won. A 50% discount rate was applied, taking into account the average PER of 34x for comparable secondary battery companies and the fact that VITZROCELL Co., Ltd.’s primary battery business accounts for approximately 95% of its operations.
Analyst Jang maintained a “Buy” rating, stating, “Since there are no production disruptions, production is expected to resume quickly, and the company is likely to fulfill its planned production volume over time.” However, he added, “Investors should exercise caution until the costs of the fire-related losses are finalized and the company’s official position is confirmed.”