[Click eStock] NEW, Palbangmiin Content Media Group "Hidden Metaverse"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] IBK Investment & Securities announced on the 12th that it expects NEW's operating profit to turn positive this year, reaching 9.1 billion KRW. Although it evaluated NEW as a versatile content group, it did not provide an investment opinion or target price.

NEW (Next Entertainment World) is a comprehensive content media group. Its headquarters operates film investment and distribution businesses, and through its subsidiaries, it runs a total of eight business divisions including drama, music, and VFX. Major consolidated subsidiaries include Studio&New (drama/film production), Engine Visual Wave (VFX planning), Content Panda (content planning/distribution), Music&New (music investment/distribution), New ID (new media business), Cine Q (cinema), and Bravo&New (sports marketing/management).

Studio&New is a drama/film content production company that has secured IP competitiveness and employs 30 professionals (including director Park Jeong-hoon, writer Kang Pool, and writer Lim Me-a-ri). It signed an exclusive supply contract with the new OTT provider Disney+ to supply at least one work annually for five years. Two works have already been confirmed for supply and are scheduled to begin filming in August. Depending on production progress, one work (a webtoon-based SF piece) is expected to recognize revenue by the end of the year, and the other by the first half of 2022, playing a central role in the company's performance turnaround. Meanwhile, subsidiary Engine Visual Wave, established in 2019, is a specialized VFX production company for video content. Although it has a short establishment period, it participated in the 2019 Melon Music Awards AR performance, the 2020 drama ‘SF8’, and will be involved in the visual effects production of the 2021 SF drama ‘Moving’. Its corporate value is expected to increase alongside the growth of the metaverse market.

Lee Min-hee, a researcher at IBK Investment & Securities, explained, "Thanks to revenue recognition from new dramas and the film ‘Night in Paradise’ supplied to Netflix, sales growth and reduction in operating losses are expected in the first half of this year. Although film screenings are expected to remain limited in the second half due to strengthened government quarantine measures, a company-wide turnaround is anticipated, supported by the improved performance of subsidiary Studio&New. Annual sales are expected to grow by 17.3%, and operating profit is expected to turn positive at 9.1 billion KRW this year."

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