[Click eStock] "Vespa, the Year of Rebound... Success Potential Increases with Resumption of Foreign License"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] Kiwoom Securities analyzed on the 20th that this year will be the first year of resurgence for Vespa. No investment opinion or target price was presented.

Vespa began airing the animation of the mobile game 'King's Raid' last October on major platforms in countries such as China, the United States, and South Korea. Jaeil Park, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said, "The animation is scheduled to air until March," adding, "In particular, it recorded a cumulative viewership of 4 million paid members in China, demonstrating the potential for the King's Raid IP to succeed in the Chinese market. Therefore, the possibility of success for King's Raid is increasing when foreign game licenses resume."

He also emphasized the need to closely watch the upcoming new releases. He stated, "Three meaningful new titles are scheduled to be released this year, and a total of seven new titles are planned to be launched by the first half of next year," adding, "The first new release this year, Time Defenders, is a defense RPG genre game, with a closed beta test (CBT) scheduled for early March in Japan, followed by a launch in Japan in the second quarter and then a global launch."

The remastered version of King's Raid is also expected to have a positive impact on revenue growth. He explained, "In the third quarter, the launch of King's Raid Season 2, the remastered version of King's Raid, is scheduled," adding, "It is expected to generate approximately 40 billion KRW in additional revenue due to the return of former users and the influx of new users."

He said, "Additionally, Project CA, which will be released, is a real-time matching PvP (Turn-based RPG) game preferred by users in North America and Europe, with the main target markets being North America and Europe, and a global launch is planned," adding, "Lastly, Project OP, scheduled for release in the first half of 2022, is an RPG genre game utilizing the IP of a major Japanese game company, and it is expected to perform well in Japan and South Korea, where the IP has high recognition."

This year is expected to see a performance turnaround due to new releases and other factors. He explained, "Due to a decrease in revenue from the flagship game King's Raid and increased development costs for new titles resulting in losses at major subsidiaries, last year's revenue was 75.6 billion KRW, down 24.9% year-on-year, and operating loss was 24.9 billion KRW, with losses expected to continue," adding, "This year, revenue is expected to increase by 83.1% year-on-year to 136.4 billion KRW, and operating profit is expected to turn positive to 15.9 billion KRW, forecasting a performance turnaround." He added, "These are conservative estimates for the new titles releasing in 2021, and if the new titles succeed, the upside in performance is expected to be significant."

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