[EQUITIES]Low real estate transactions dent Hanssem’s Q2 earnings

[THE INVESTOR] Hanssem, South Korea’ s No. 1 furniture maker, failed to meet profit and revenue expectations in the second quarter, a local brokerage firm Mirae Asset Securities said on July 18.

“Hanssem posted 435.1 billion won (US$382.81 million) in sales and 30.2 billion won in operation profit which lagged far behind market expectations,” said Lee Gwang-soo, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities. 

The biggest reason for the lackluster performance is dropped sales in kitchen interior items which accounts for a large part of the company’s revenue, he said.

He said that kitchen furniture sales dwindled as the number of real estate transactions diminished during the April-June period.

“The second quarter result highlights that the company’s profitability is decreasing despite boosted sales,” he added.

To maintain its market share, Hanssem continued to expand investments while cutting product prices, he said.

Mirae Asset Securities slashed the target price of Hanssem to 230,000 won from 308,000 won.

Hanssem’s stock gained 2.02 percent to 176,500 won as of 9:50 a.m.

By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)