[Click eStock] "Ace Story, Record High Performance Expected in 2021"

Hana Financial Investment Report
2021 Sales Expected to Exceed 30 Billion Won

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] Hana Financial Investment forecasted on the 17th that Ace Story could achieve record-high performance next year. This outlook is based on the expectation of high profitability through the airing of the drama "Jirisan."

On the previous day, Ace Story announced that it signed a sales and supply contract worth 20.8 billion KRW for the new drama "Jirisan" by writer Kim Eun-hee. Considering the lineup starring actors Jeon Ji-hyun and Ju Ji-hoon, the amount may seem somewhat low, but this is not a production announcement; it only involves selling the domestic broadcasting rights to tvN. The drama's IP is held by Ace Story, and it is co-produced with Studio Dragon.

In addition to the domestic broadcasting rights, considering the lineup of the writer, director, and actors, it is expected to be at least a tentpole drama level (around 2 billion KRW per episode). Since Ace Story holds the IP, a better profit structure than a typical tentpole drama is anticipated.

Researcher Lee Ki-hoon of Hana Financial Investment stated, "Considering the lineup, the sales scale will be at least similar to 'The King' by writer Kim Eun-sook and starring Lee Min-ho," adding, "We need to watch the overseas sales announcement, but the estimate is that next year’s sales will be at least 30 billion KRW with a gross profit margin exceeding 30%."

Besides Jirisan, works such as "If You Cheat, You Die" scheduled to air on KBS in December, "Queen Maker" and "Big Mouth" from 2021 are also in preparation. A global project for 2022 is underway, and a game development contract based on the Kingdom IP with Action Square has also been signed.

Researcher Lee Ki-hoon diagnosed, "Since the drama Kingdom, there have not been many tentpole dramas, causing the stock price to stagnate, and a large deficit was recorded due to losses related to the Optimus fund," adding, "Next year, record-high performance is expected even based on operating profit."

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