"Daewoo Engineering & Construction Expected to Benefit from Team Korea Nuclear Power Exports"—Target Price Raised

[Financial News] NH Investment & Securities raised Daewoo Engineering & Construction’s target price from 26,000 won to 30,000 won, saying the company’s competitiveness in liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects is gaining attention amid expectations for expanded nuclear cooperation between South Korea and the United States. The brokerage maintained its Buy rating.
On the 11th, Lee Eun-sang, an analyst at NH Investment & Securities, said, "With the announcement of investment in eight large-scale nuclear reactors in the United States making Team Korea’s nuclear exports more tangible, Daewoo Engineering & Construction’s competitiveness is once again coming into focus based on its experience as a lead contractor for nuclear power projects."
The analyst said, "With the number of South Korean construction companies that have experience as lead contractors for nuclear power projects narrowed to three, the company is highly likely to participate as Team Korea’s construction partner, considering its competitors’ business priorities."
He added, "It is also positive that contract awards for major projects, including LNG projects, are imminent." 
He continued, "The company presented five major projects after raising its order-intake guidance by 50% at its second-quarter earnings announcement," emphasizing, "Daewoo Engineering & Construction is the only South Korean company with a prime-contractor track record in LNG liquefaction construction and is one of seven companies worldwide with such a record."
Daewoo Engineering & Construction was recently selected as the preferred bidder for an LNG project in Papua New Guinea and received a letter of intent to award for the Rovuma LNG project in Mozambique.
NH Investment & Securities also maintained its previous forecast that Daewoo Engineering & Construction will win contracts for six nuclear reactors over the next three years—two in the Czech Republic, two in Vietnam, and two in the United States. It also forecast that the company’s operating profit for the third quarter of this year will reach 186.5 billion won, up 230% from the same period last year and exceeding market expectations. 

[email protected] Joo Won-kyu Reporter