[Post-IPO]② Robotis, Growth Curbed by Product Launch Delays

Expected Nearly Double Growth Annually, but Performance Declined Due to Product Launch Delays
Preparing New Growth Engines Aligned with Untact Activation

Amid the aftermath of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), funds are flowing into the frozen initial public offering (IPO) market. This year’s biggest IPO, SK Biopharm, attracted subscription deposits amounting to 31 trillion won, marking the largest scale ever. Internet-only bank KakaoBank is also preparing for its IPO, aiming for a listing in the second half of this year. As the domestic stock market showed significant volatility due to COVID-19, the number of individual investors newly starting stock investments has increased. With growing interest in IPO investments, it is necessary to make a proper judgment regarding the appropriate offering price when investing in public shares. Asia Economy reviews the investment prospectuses presented by newly listed companies on the domestic stock market and examines the appropriateness of their offering prices.

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] Robotis, which was listed on KOSDAQ in 2018, received high attention in the public offering market. The offering price exceeded the upper limit of the expected price range, and the general subscription competition rate surpassed 1000 to 1. This reflected expectations for growth in the robot market. Initially, Robotis grew in line with market expectations. However, in the second year after listing, last year, growth stagnated due to delays in product launches, causing both performance and stock price to fall short of expectations.

Founded in 1999, Robotis possesses technologies such as robot-specific actuators and artificial intelligence (AI) software capable of driving actuators. Based on this, it operates businesses including service robot construction solutions, edutainment robot business, and robot platform business. Notably, LG Electronics holds an 8.5% stake, making it the third-largest shareholder.

Mirae Asset Daewoo, which managed the listing, proposed an offering price range of 9,200 to 11,300 won for Robotis, but the final offering price was set at 14,000 won. The general subscription competition rate recorded 1,043.92 to 1, indicating strong popularity in the public offering market. At that time, Mirae Asset Daewoo projected Robotis to record sales of 25 billion won in 2018 and 51.3 billion won in 2019. Operating profit was expected to be 2.4 billion won and 8.3 billion won respectively, showing nearly double growth each year.

The performance in the first year after listing, 2018, was not significantly different from the projections. Robotis recorded sales of 24 billion won and operating profit of 2.7 billion won. Sales were 3.8% below projections, but operating profit was 14.4% higher.

However, last year’s performance was problematic. Based on individual financial statements, Robotis recorded sales of 22.7 billion won and operating profit of 1.1 billion won last year. The deviation rates from projections were 55.76% and 85.94%, respectively. Performance also deteriorated compared to the previous year. A company official stated, "The delay in product launches by partner companies affected the results."

In the first quarter of this year, Robotis recorded sales of 5.4 billion won and an operating loss of 168.51 million won. Sales decreased by 0.7% compared to the same period last year. Although operating losses continued as in last year, the deficit narrowed. The investment prospectus projected total sales and operating profit for this year at 84.4 billion won and 16.2 billion won, respectively. The current performance is far from achieving these estimates. In particular, as of the 19th, the stock price was 12,350 won, below the offering price.

However, growth potential remains open due to the activation of non-face-to-face (untact) services. In December last year, Robotis passed the regulatory sandbox demonstration exemption for industrial convergence in the robot field. The company is conducting pilot services such as delivery and monitoring on sidewalks and crosswalks in the Magok-dong area of Gangseo-gu, Seoul, along with demonstration tests of outdoor autonomous driving robots for two years. A company official emphasized, "It is not something that can be commercialized immediately," but added, "We are actively responding to various procedures and regulations such as tests and demonstrations to find ways for commercialization."

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