[비즈한국] Hanwha Solutions009830 recently announced a rights offering plan worth 2.4 trillion won. Following the announcement, Hanwha Solutions' stock price plummeted. In response, the company's management stepped in to purchase shares directly to demonstrate responsible management. Nevertheless, Hanwha Solutions' stock price has failed to rebound.
On March 26, Hanwha Solutions announced a 2.4 trillion won rights offering. The company stated that the funds raised through this offering would be used to repay 1.5 trillion won in debt and invest 900 trillion won in facility capital. Specifically, the facility funds are intended for pilot verification of tandem cell mass production, the establishment of TOPCon cell production lines, and the commercialization of gigawatt-scale tandem cells.
Both tandem cells and TOPCon cells are considered next-generation high-efficiency solar products. Tandem cells increase power generation efficiency by stacking different material layers, while TOPCon cells feature a structure that improves efficiency and output compared to existing solar cells. With this investment, Hanwha Solutions plans to accelerate its next-generation cell technology verification and build a mass production system.
Following the announcement, Hanwha Solutions' stock price fell. The closing price dropped 18.22% from 45,000 won on the 25th to 36,800 won on the 26th. The securities industry is showing skepticism toward the rights offering, and the stock price decline is being interpreted as a direct result of the announcement.
Ahn Joo-won, an analyst at DS Investment & Securities, commented, "The expected benefits of the rights offering are minimal. Paying off 1.5 trillion won does not meaningfully reduce debt, and the 900 billion won allocated for tandem mass production and TOPCon cell lines does not appear to be a reasonable investment given the timing."
Lee Jin-ho, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities, explained, "The dilution effect on equity value is greater than the 1.5 trillion won used for debt repayment, and the visibility of short-term profitability for tandem cell and TOPCon investments is limited. Furthermore, since expectations for space solar power were already priced into the stock, I believe a conservative approach is necessary for now."
On the 27th, Hanwha Solutions announced that Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan would purchase approximately 3 billion won worth of company shares. Based on the closing price of the 26th, this amounts to 81,500 shares, or a 0.047% stake.
Additionally, Nam Jeong-woon, CEO of Hanwha Solutions' Chemical Division, and Park Seung-duk, CEO of Hanwha Solutions' Q Cells Division, decided to purchase approximately 600 million won worth of shares each. The purchase amount is equivalent to their annual salaries from last year.
Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan and CEOs Nam Jeong-woon and Park Seung-duk plan to purchase the shares sequentially starting from March 30. Other executives are also expected to voluntarily participate in share purchases. CEO Nam stated, "Through this rights offering, we will ensure that Hanwha Solutions achieves sustainable growth and, furthermore, improves profitability to repay our shareholders by enhancing shareholder value."
Analysts suggest that the decision by Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan and other executives to buy stakes reflects their concern over the falling stock price. However, Hanwha Solutions' stock price failed to rebound on the 27th, closing at 35,650 won.