[Click e Stocks] NAVER, Key to Enhancing Corporate Value: 'Content'

[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] KTB Investment & Securities maintained NAVER's target stock price at 520,000 KRW on the 23rd. It also viewed that the key point for enhancing corporate value would be whether growth based on content can be secured through the expansion of secondary video business based on webtoons and web novels in the second half of this year, as well as the addition of a Roblox business model based on Zepeto.

KTB Investment & Securities forecasted NAVER's sales for the second quarter of this year to be 1.613 trillion KRW and operating profit to be 328 billion KRW. Sales and operating profit are expected to increase by 7.6% and 13.5%, respectively, compared to the previous quarter. The operating profit margin is anticipated to be around 20.3%. The main factors limiting the operating profit margin were identified as increased labor costs centered on stock compensation expenses and increased marketing expenses such as NAVER Plus Membership.

In particular, KTB Investment & Securities expected that the growth potential of the webtoon and web novel business would become prominent from the third quarter, considering the timing of the reorganization of the LINE Digital Frontier platform. Additionally, they anticipated the promotion of IP linkage between webtoons and web novels following the completion of the Wattpad acquisition and the expansion of the secondary video business. However, regarding the secondary video business, it was noted that it is necessary to prove growth potential in the global market through continuous cooperation systems with global OTT operators or major production companies.

Regarding Zepeto, it was expected that the addition of game functions in the second half of the year would promote the addition of a Roblox BM through multiple creator-based games. However, it was diagnosed that technical improvements such as control optimization and increased game freedom must precede to establish business competitiveness.

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