EcoPro (086520) Group has regained a market capitalization of 50 trillion won, overtaking LS (006260) and Celltrion (068270) to rank 9th among domestic corporate groups by market cap. The surge came as secondary battery stocks, which had been taking a breather amid concerns over the electric vehicle chasm (temporary demand slowdown), jumped on the back of rising oil prices due to Middle East tensions and expectations for expanding energy storage system (ESS) demand. As traditional conglomerates occupy the 1st through 8th spots in group market cap rankings, fierce competition for the 9th and 10th positions among the EcoPro, LS, and Celltrion groups is expected for the foreseeable future.
According to the Korea Exchange on the 21st, the combined market cap of EcoPro group stocks (EcoPro, EcoPro BM (247540), EcoPro Materials (450080), and EcoPro HN (383310)) reached 50.3723 trillion won. EcoPro group stocks surpassed the LS Group's stocks (10 companies) at 47.7147 trillion won and Celltrion Group stocks (2 companies) at 47.6066 trillion won, securing 9th place in group market capitalization. On the same day, LS Group stocks such as LS (up 1.66%) and LS ELECTRIC (010120) (up 0.27%) also rose, but all four EcoPro group companies—EcoPro (up 5.21% to 163,700 won), EcoPro BM (up 5.00% to 220,500 won), EcoPro Materials (up 7.91%), and EcoPro HN (up 6.85%)—surged together, increasing the group's market cap by about 3 trillion won in a single day.
Buoyed by the secondary battery stock boom in 2023, EcoPro Group had surpassed 70 trillion won in market cap, rising to 6th place in group rankings. On the strength of this, the group was designated as a large business conglomerate by the Fair Trade Commission for the first time in 2023. However, as related stocks entered a downtrend due to the rise of Chinese secondary battery companies, the group lingered outside the top 10 for an extended period.
EcoPro Group's return to the top 10 in market cap is interpreted as the result of soaring oil prices stemming from heightened geopolitical risks in the Middle East, which has served as a boon to the overall secondary battery industry. With rising oil prices fueling expectations for expanded renewable energy and ESS demand, strong buying momentum flowed into the secondary battery sector, which had been sluggish for some time. Compared to the beginning of the year, EcoPro has surged 85.39%, and EcoPro BM has jumped 55.61%.
Contrary to the hot investor sentiment, the brokerage community's views are mixed between hope and concern. According to financial information provider FnGuide, the average target price for EcoPro BM was raised from around 173,000 won in January this year to around 223,000 won in April. However, among the seven brokerages that issued reports this month, only two—Kyobo Securities and Daol Investment & Securities—presented a "buy" rating. No brokerage has issued a report on EcoPro this year.
On the 13th, Samsung Securities lowered its target price for EcoPro BM to 180,000 won and maintained a "neutral" rating. Jang Jeong-hoon, a researcher at Samsung Securities, noted, "First-quarter revenue growth is expected due to favorable exchange rate effects and rising selling prices," but pointed out that "the utilization rate of the BM division, whose main product is NCM9 (nickel, cobalt, manganese), is expected to drop from 36% last year to around 20% this year, making short-term earnings improvement difficult to expect."
Currently, major conglomerates such as Samsung, SK, Hyundai Motor, LG, HD Hyundai, Hanwha, Doosan, and POSCO occupy the 1st through 8th positions in group market cap rankings. The 8th-ranked POSCO Group has a market cap of 76.2587 trillion won, a significant gap from the 9th through 11th ranked groups.
