[Click eStock] "JYP Entertainment, 43.5 Billion Operating Profit Last Year... Earnings Surprise"

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] Hana Financial Investment maintained a buy rating and a target price of 33,000 KRW for JYP Entertainment on the 5th, stating that the company recorded earnings that exceeded market expectations in the fourth quarter of last year.

In the fourth quarter, JYP Entertainment posted sales of 44.3 billion KRW and an operating profit of 13.5 billion KRW, representing increases of 22% and 37% respectively compared to the same period last year. The operating profit significantly surpassed the market expectation of 10 billion KRW.

Lee Ki-hoon, a researcher at Hana Financial Investment, said, “With high-margin sales reflected from digital music, YouTube, and TWICE’s Japan tour, the company surpassed the annual operating profit hurdle of 40 billion KRW for the first time. Considering the expansion of TWICE’s tours and the contribution of Stray Kids and ITZY’s performance this year, steady growth is expected.”

However, concerns remain as the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues. Due to COVID-19, the Southeast Asia tour (5 shows), including GOT7’s stadium concert in Thailand, was postponed until after May, and TWICE’s domestic concerts (2 shows) were canceled, with the Japan dome tour (2 shows) also postponed to April.

The timing of lifting the entry ban from Korea needs to be monitored. Researcher Lee Ki-hoon explained, “The number of regions strengthening entry bans and procedures from Korea is increasing. In Japan, where the profit ratio is high, the government is requesting cancellations and postponements of sports and cultural events, so it is necessary to see whether the postponement of the Japanese professional baseball game scheduled for the 20th will occur.”

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