Hana Securities analyst Park Jong-dae forecast Thursday that Coway's second-quarter sales would reach the 1.4 trillion won range and operating profit the 270 billion won range. Shown is a still from Coway's musical advertisement campaign for its 'Lulu The Manner Bidet.' [Coway]
Hana Securities analyst Park Jong-dae forecast Thursday that Coway's second-quarter sales would reach the 1.4 trillion won range and operating profit the 270 billion won range. Shown is a still from Coway's musical advertisement campaign for its 'Lulu The Manner Bidet.' [Coway]

Hana Securities projects Q2 sales at 1.43 trillion won, operating profit at 273.3 billion won

Malaysia, Thailand driving high growth; Indonesia certification delays remain a variable

Coway's full-year operating profit seen approaching 1 trillion won

Securities analysts forecast that Coway's second-quarter operating profit will reach the 270 billion won ($179 million) range, lifted by sustained growth in domestic rental accounts and strong expansion by its Southeast Asian subsidiaries in Malaysia and Thailand.

Hana Securities estimated Thursday that Coway's consolidated second-quarter sales and operating profit came in at 1.43 trillion won and 273.3 billion won, respectively — up 14 percent and 13 percent from a year earlier. The consensus estimates compiled by FnGuide had placed second-quarter sales at 1.4 trillion won and operating profit at 265.2 billion won. Hana Securities' operating profit estimate is about 8 billion won above the market consensus.

"In Southeast Asia, particularly Malaysia and Thailand, Coway is achieving both top-line growth and margin improvement at the same time," said Park Jong-dae, an analyst at Hana Securities. "In Malaysia, an intensely competitive phase has wound down, and Coway's market share has been rising rapidly since 2025. Water purifiers are shifting from entry-level models to premium products such as ice-dispensing purifiers, and strong sales in categories like mattresses and air conditioners — which carry a higher proportion of upfront revenue recognition — are also contributing to profitability."

Park added that new mattress rental sales in Malaysia have exceeded 35,000 units per quarter, while air conditioner sales jumped from 20,000 units in the first quarter to 35,000 in the second. "In Thailand, the number of rental accounts is growing 40 percent year on year," he said. "The product lineup has expanded from water purifiers to air purifiers and, since the fourth quarter of last year, air conditioners. Quarterly new water purifier sales exceed 40,000 units. As cumulative account numbers grow, the operating profit margin is climbing into the low-to-mid 5 percent range."

Coway's earnings have improved noticeably every quarter. In the first quarter of this year, the company posted consolidated sales of 1.33 trillion won and operating profit of 250.9 billion won. Overseas subsidiary sales reached 537 billion won, up 20.2 percent from a year earlier. Sales from the Malaysian subsidiary rose 23.5 percent to 406.2 billion won, the Thai subsidiary climbed 29.3 percent to 55.4 billion won, and the Indonesian subsidiary gained 14.7 percent to 12.6 billion won.

Coway's business structure, as reflected in its quarterly report, is aligned with overseas rental expansion. As of end-March 2026, rental sales accounted for 1.22 trillion won of consolidated sales of 1.33 trillion won, or 92.0 percent of the total. The company operates overseas subsidiaries in Malaysia, the United States, China, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Europe, Singapore and India.

Hana Securities expects growth at the Malaysian and Thai subsidiaries to have continued into the second quarter. The brokerage estimated Malaysia's sales rose about 22 percent year on year, driven by a broadening product mix beyond water purifiers into mattresses and air conditioners, alongside easing competition and a higher share of premium products.

However, Hana Securities estimated that Coway's US subsidiary posted a 2 percent year-on-year sales decline in the second quarter. The US unit had already seen sales fall 4.1 percent to 57.5 billion won in the first quarter. Coway said the operating profit margin nonetheless improved, thanks to cost efficiencies from a restructured commission system.

The domestic business is providing a floor for overall earnings. Hana Securities estimated that Coway's domestic sales grew 11 percent year on year in the second quarter, with net new rental accounts expected to reach 230,000 — up from about 190,000 in the first quarter — on the back of strong new rental sales.

Some in the securities industry have raised the possibility that Coway could approach an annual operating profit of 1 trillion won this year. The FnGuide consensus puts Coway's full-year operating profit at 998.7 billion won. If that forecast is realized, Coway will have extended its earnings improvement streak into a second consecutive year, driven by rental account expansion and overseas subsidiary growth.


hong@heraldcorp.com