LS Electric shares climbed in intraday trading after the company reported its best-ever first-quarter results.
As of 2:46 p.m. on the 22nd, LS Electric was trading at 194,000 won, up 5.04% from the previous session, according to the Korea Exchange.
The gain was attributed to improved investor sentiment after the company posted record first-quarter performance, supported by growing demand for power infrastructure for global data centers.
LS Electric said the previous day that preliminary consolidated operating profit for the first quarter totaled 126.6 billion won, up 45% from a year earlier. Revenue rose 33.4% to 1.3766 trillion won, and net profit jumped 77.6% to 119.6 billion won.
Brokerages also raised target prices to reflect the stronger results.
Lee Sang-hyeon, an analyst at BNK Investment & Securities, wrote in a report on the 22nd that the company showed “clear growth” and largely met the operating-profit consensus. He said the strong first quarter was not a one-off and forecast orders and sales would continue to trend higher through the second, third and fourth quarters.
Lee said new orders from big tech companies for data center projects are expected to rise at least 50% from 1 trillion won last year to more than 1.5 trillion won this year, and raised his target price to 230,000 won from 194,000 won.
Lee Dong-heon, an analyst at Shinhan Investment Corp., said the stock’s “expensive valuation” could be tolerated if additional earnings growth follows from mid- to long-term orders, adding that the key issue is how much the company can expand its market position. He set a target price of 210,000 won, up from 129,000 won.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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