Seers (458870) posted record quarterly earnings, with analysts projecting that the first quarter of this year may mark the bottom for the company's gross profit margin (GPM).
"There were concerns that surging global server prices would erode Seers' GPM, but thanks to long-term supply contracts and explosive top-line growth, operating leverage from products other than servers helped the company defend earnings better than market concerns," Kim Chung-hyun, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities, said in a report Thursday. "It is reasonable to view the first quarter of this year as the GPM bottom."
Seers announced a day earlier that it recorded revenue of 32.5 billion won and operating profit of 13.9 billion won. Both revenue and operating profit set new quarterly records. The operating profit margin stood at 42.6%, maintaining a level above 40% for the third consecutive quarter.
"The company recognized revenue from orders of approximately 8,300 hospital beds for 'ThinQ' in the domestic market, but installation of 3,000 beds was deferred due to customer circumstances, creating a gap between revenue recognition and installed beds," Kim said. "As a result, installations in the second quarter will exceed 10,000, and Seers' installation target for this year is 30,000."
Kim added, "Seers has secured data demonstrating equivalence with standard equipment for the first and only time in the inpatient environment, creating a wearable-based inpatient monitoring market and expanding it alongside Daewoong Pharmaceutical, a leading partner." He continued, "There is no comparable company in any aspect — first-mover advantage as a category creator, clinical data, sales capability, platform service operation experience, or earnings performance."
