Posted on 29 Jan 2021
4Q20P consolidated OP of KRW55.4bn short of consensus by 42%
— Hyundai Steel posted 4Q20P consolidated revenue of KRW4.78tn (-1% YoY) and OP of KRW55.4bn (turn to black YoY; 1.2% OPM), stopping short of the market consensus (KRW95.9bn) by 42% and our estimate (KRW68.8bn) by 20%.
— Standalone revenue/OP came in at KRW3.99tn (-11% YoY)/KRW35.5bn (+5% YoY; 0.9% OPM).
— The company’s shares were down 4% on Jan 28, underperforming the KOSPI by 3% YTD.
One-off costs stemming from collective bargaining undermined earnings
— The earnings shortcoming was largely attributable to KRW40.0bn in one-off costs stemming from collective wage bargaining.
— Steel ASP landed at KRW780k (-8% YoY) with a total of 5.08m tons sold (-1% YoY).
— Revenue from blast furnaces was KRW2.31tn (+3% YoY) and electric furnaces KRW1.68tn (-11% YoY).
— Downstream-industry woes (e.g., auto, shipbuilding) undermined ASP and sales volume, but demand maintained its uptrend in 2H20.
— NP plunged on an impairment loss of KRW100.0bn arising from halted operations for thin-sheet and color-plate plants and KRW90.0bn in fines imposed on the company for fixing steel scrap prices.
2021 guidance: Sales volume to slide 2% YoY
— 2021 sales volume guidance has been set at 19.34mn tons (-2% YoY; blast furnaces -1% YoY; electric furnaces -3% YoY).
— Output and sales will normalize as the global economy recovers. Profit margins will also improve thanks to the removal of underperforming business segments.
— Profit margins dropped YoY in 1H20 as capacity utilization rate plummeted because of the shutting down of overseas facilities.
— The company will invest KRW340.0bn in ESG-related CDQ facilities until 2024.
Source:Business Korea
