DB Financial Investment stock soars after value-up disclosure

[Courtesy of DB Financial Investment Co.]

South Korea’s DB Financial Investment Co. saw its stock price surge by over 12 percent on Friday morning after it announced a value-up plan aimed at enhancing corporate value for the first time in the securities industry.

Shares of the mid-sized securities firm were trading at 5,450 won as of 10:50 a.m. on Friday, up 12.14 percent from the previous day.

On Thursday, DB Financial Investment unveiled a value-up plan focused on enhancing total shareholder return (TSR), with an aim to achieve a return on equity (ROE) of over 10 percent, maintain a shareholder return rate of over 40 percent, and exceed the industry‘s average price-to-book ratio (PBR).

The company aims to increase ROE to over 10 percent by 2027 and use at least 40 percent of its adjusted net income based on standalone financial statements for shareholder returns over the next three years, targeting a dividend yield of over 5 percent and share buybacks.

The 40 percent shareholder return rate significantly exceeds DB Financial Investment’s five-year average of 26.7 percent and is higher than that of some other securities firms that previously announced value-up plans.

Meanwhile, stocks related to Tesla Inc.’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) software surged on Friday after the U.S. electric carmaker announced plans to expand FSD to Europe and China in the first quarter of 2025.

As of 10:51 a.m., shares of Furonteer Inc., a manufacturer of sensing camera equipment for autonomous vehicles, were trading 29.94 percent higher at 18,750 won, hitting their upper limit

Other stocks with technologies used in autonomous vehicles also saw significant gains, with Ranix Inc. up 19.26 percent, Smart Radar System Inc. up 11.73 percent, Infobank Corp. up 3.72 percent, Nextchip Co. up 8.29 percent, and Mobile Appliance Inc. up 1.94 percent.

PharmaResearch Co. shares also gained ground on Friday following news that the biopharmaceutical company secured an investment worth around 200 billion won from a European private equity fund.

As of 10:53 a.m., the stock was trading 2.81 percent higher at 183,000 won.

PharmaResearch announced on Thursday that it had decided to raise around 200 billion won through a third-party allocation rights offering for operating funds.

The new shares, totaling 1,175,647, will be issued at 170,119 won apiece, with the third-party allotment going to Policy Company Limited, a special purpose vehicle established by CVC Capital Partners plc, a European private equity firm.

The company plans to use the funds primarily for strategic overseas mergers and acquisitions (M&A), as well as to strengthen research and development (R&D) for establishing local subsidiaries in key markets, developing new products, and enhancing existing ones.