A power meter installed in a residential area in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul [출처 : 연합뉴스]
Korea Electric Power Corporation, which had recorded the biggest operating loss since Dangun just two years ago, has transformed into a company that generates trillions of profit in profits in just one quarter. As the first quarter earnings release approaches, earnings expectations are rising, but stock prices are falling. Initially, electricity rates were expected to rise after the April 10 general elections, but concerns that the increase in electricity rates would be delayed due to rising prices are holding stock prices back.
As of 11 am on the 29th, KEPCO is trading at 21,200 won, up 150 won (0.71%) from the previous day.
The stock price of Korea Electric Power Corporation fell by 16.70% in just over a month and a half from the short-term high of 25,450 won on the 15th. This number is significantly lower than the KOSPI’s rate of return of 0.42% during this period.
KEPCO’s stock price was very good from the end of last year to the beginning of this year. The stock price, which was 16,030 won at the end of October last year, rose 58.76% in five months to about 25,000 won at the end of March this year.
Stock prices, which had been doing well, began to decline significantly beginning in mid-March.
The performance outlook is very positive. Korea Electric Power Corporation recorded a record operating loss of 32.665 trillion won in 2022. This is because the government, concerned about rising prices, stopped raising electricity rates because raw material prices are rising due to the war in Ukraine. Last year, the annual deficit reached 4.542 trillion won.
However, in the first quarter of this year, KEPCO is expected to make an operating profit of approximately 3 trillion won. Based on Fn Guide, KEPCO’s average operating profit forecast for the first quarter is 2.675 trillion won. The forecast, which was 1.5 trillion won at the end of last year, is being revised quickly as the earnings announcement approaches. In the past two weeks, the four security companies that issued forecasts for KEPCO’s first quarter operating profit predicted an operating profit in the 3 trillion range.
KEPCO’s operating profit forecast for the first quarter is the highest among all listed companies. Based on listed companies that have announced their performance so far, it ranks 5th after Samsung Electronics (KRW 6.6 trillion), Hyundai Motors (KRW 3.5574 trillion), Kia (KRW 3.4257 trillion), and SK Hynix (KRW 2.886 trillion). It is more than KB Financial Group (KRW 2.3554 trillion) and Shinhan Financial Group (KRW 2.0682 trillion).
The biggest reason for the downward movement in Korea Electric Power Corporation’s stock price is concerns about the delay in electricity rate increases. Electricity rates are determined in March, June, September and December each year. The government, which started raising electricity rates in 2022, raised electricity rates by around 40% by the second quarter of last year. Since then, household electricity rates have been frozen for one year from the third quarter of last year to the second quarter of this year.
news/cms/202404/29/news-p.v1.20240429.974d124c5a1d44898c1ce30b682fb83b_R.jpg" data-width="825" data-height="564"/> enlarge picture Over the past month, the share price of Korea Electric Power Corporation has changed for the past year. [출처 : 구글 파이낸스]
The securities market expected electricity rates to rise again starting in the third quarter after the general election in April, but recent price conditions are taking an unusual turn. Oil prices are rising again due to political instability in the Middle East, and as the value of the Korean won per dollar is falling, the burden of import prices is increasing. There are signs that the government’s stance, which emphasized the need for reasonable electricity rates, is also changing.
Choi Sang-mok, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance, said on the 18th (local time), “As the price situation remains difficult, we are thinking conservatively about public utility bills at the time this. He added, “(For now) we have no choice but to maintain the current trend, but we have to wait and see.”
Securities markets are also weighing the possibility of freezing electricity rates in the third quarter. As the third quarter is the time of year when electricity bills are at their highest due to demand for cooling, complaints about rising electricity rates may increase. Moreover, while there is a long way to go to eliminate the accumulated deficit, it is true that KEPCO generates more than trillions of won each quarter, so the justification for raising electricity rates is much weaker than before.
Seong Jong-hwa, a researcher at E-Best Investment & Securities, said, “The main issue is an appropriate level of rate hike to solve the accumulated large deficit between 2021 and 2023, but the second quarter is a time of policy the government. of freezing the rates of public utilities in the first half of the year and administrative procedures such as the creation of the National Assembly immediately after the general election Considering this, the potential seems to be low,” he said season, and as the possibility of a rate hike appears to be low. “The fourth quarter is likely to be the time for rate hikes,” he said.
2024-04-29 05:07:59
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