[Alpha Biz= Reporter Kim Minyoung] Hana Securities lowered its target price for SK Networks from 10,000 won to 7,000 won on the 17th.
This marks a return to the 7,000-won range last suggested in July 2021, when it set a target of 7,200 won.
Hana Securities stated, "Second-quarter results are expected to meet the recently lowered market expectations. The revenue for the second quarter is projected to be 1.7 trillion won, down 20.0% year-on-year, mainly due to the discontinuation of the car rental business. Operating profit is expected to decrease by 60.5% year-on-year to 26.8 billion won."
Hana Securities also commented, "Active restructuring of business units is underway to improve asset efficiency. The overall profit is inevitably reduced due to the sale of SK Rent-a-Car. However, the sale proceeds used to repay debt can lead to improvements in net profit due to reduced interest expenses, and there is some potential for special dividends."
Furthermore, Hana Securities noted, "Following the group's overall strategy, SK Networks is expected to venture into AI-related businesses in the future. In the short term, there is potential to explore synergies with existing SK Magic through AI-applied home appliances, which are expected to launch as early as the second half of this year."
Alphabiz Kim Minyoung (kimmy@alphabiz.co.kr)
