"Haein Seen Gaining an Early Lead in AI Data Center Emergency Generators, with U.S. Navy MRO Growth Expected"

Haein is being recognized as having entered a phase of full-fledged earnings growth, leveraging its exclusive supply relationship with Caterpillar to target the market for high-capacity emergency generators amid increased investment in AI data centers.

On October 15, independent research firm Growth Research said that Haein could see companywide profitability improve as its high-margin engine and generator business, as well as its naval vessel parts and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) business, continues to expand significantly.

According to Growth Research, Haein's future growth will hinge on expanding its share of the generator market for AI data centers and growing its U.S. Navy vessel MRO business. AI data centers need to rapidly handle power loads when an outage occurs, driving sharply higher demand for Caterpillar generators, which are highly capable of handling initial loads. As global big tech companies expand their direct investments in Korea, Haein's order prospects are becoming more visible as an approved vendor.

Despite a global shortage of large engines, Haein has also secured supply volumes from Caterpillar through 2028 ahead of time, maximizing its competitiveness in bidding. The analysis said that orders for these products are expected to begin contributing substantially to earnings from late 2027.

The recent increase in the share of high-value-added products and maintenance services is directly translating into improved profitability. Last year, operating profit rose 24.0% year over year to 17.6 billion won. Expanded project deliveries in the second half of this year and lower purchasing costs due to the won's strength are expected to support near-term earnings. At the same time, rising demand for parts and MRO services for U.S. Navy vessels, including LPD-17-class amphibious ships, where margins are more than twice those of the equipment business, could take Haein's overall earnings power to a new level. Whether this happens has been identified as a key factor in the company's valuation gains.

Han Yonghee, a researcher at Growth Research, said, "Haein has secured three key strengths: its exclusive position as Korea's only official Caterpillar dealer, an overwhelming market share of about 90% among major domestic semiconductor customers, and its competitiveness as a vendor that has secured supply volumes through 2028 in advance. The point at which Caterpillar products' supply chain comes into focus in the AI data center market, where global big tech companies are rapidly entering, and benefits from naval vessel maintenance linked to Korean shipbuilders grow will mark the beginning of a full-fledged revaluation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.