[Click eStock] Online Shopping Surge Due to COVID... NHN Hanguk Cyber Payment Forecasts Record-Breaking Performance

'Record-breaking' February... Monthly transaction amount surpasses 2 trillion won
Due to prolonged COVID-19, March transaction amount also expected to exceed 2 trillion won

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] Due to the surge in online shopping transactions caused by the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), NHN Korea Cyber Payment is expected to achieve record-breaking performance in the first quarter of this year.

On the 18th, DS Investment & Securities forecasted that NHN Korea Cyber Payment would record sales of 139.5 billion KRW and an operating profit of 9.9 billion KRW in the first quarter. This represents the highest performance ever, with sales increasing by 27.1% and operating profit by 88.3% compared to the first quarter of last year.

The surge in online shopping demand due to COVID-19 was a key factor. Last month, Coupang, a major e-commerce client of NHN Korea Cyber Payment, recorded payment transactions of 1.6 trillion KRW, up 13.2% from the previous month. Considering that online shopping transaction volumes typically decline in February compared to January, this is considered an unusual increase. Since NHN Korea Cyber Payment also counts e-commerce companies such as TMON and WEMAKEPRICE among its clients, it is analyzed that the company directly benefited from the increase in online shopping demand.

The rise in demand for food delivery also positively impacted performance growth. Between February 24 and March 8, the number of orders on 'Baedal Minjok,' the nation's top food delivery application, increased by 8.4% compared to the previous month. For 'Yogiyo,' the second-largest delivery app, cafe and dessert orders from February 10 to March 8 increased by more than 18% compared to the previous month. These two companies, clients of NHN Korea Cyber Payment, hold nearly 90% of the market share.

Accordingly, NHN Korea Cyber Payment's transaction volume last month reached 2 trillion KRW. Although February is generally a month with low transaction volumes throughout the year, it nearly doubled compared to 1.3 trillion KRW in February last year. Jaeho Choi, a researcher at DS Investment & Securities, explained, "With the prolonged COVID-19 situation, March is also expected to surpass 2 trillion KRW in transaction volume," adding, "The continuous expansion of global overseas clients, who impose higher commission rates compared to domestic clients, is also expected to significantly contribute to the growth in performance."

DS Investment & Securities gave NHN Korea Cyber Payment a 'Buy' investment rating with a target price of 31,000 KRW. The closing price the previous day was 24,700 KRW.

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