"Surprising Earnings Without BLACKPINK"... YG Entertainment Target Price Raised

"Improved Performance Including Blackpink Activities in the Second Half"
NH Investment & Securities Raises Target Price to 85,000 Won and Others Follow

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji Yeon-jin] YG Entertainment's target stock price is being raised one after another. This is due to the sharp rise in the stock price recently, fueled by expectations for the second half performance, which is anticipated to feature activities of the company's representative girl group BLACKPINK, following a surprise strong performance in the second quarter.

According to the financial investment industry on the 14th, YG Entertainment's consolidated sales in the second quarter reached 83.7 billion KRW, a 56.0% increase compared to the same period last year, and operating profit surged by 276.9% to 10.5 billion KRW. Initially, the market was concerned about the performance since there were no new activities except for Kang Seung-yoon's solo album in the second quarter of this year, but contrary to expectations, the company recorded an 'earnings surprise' more than twice the forecast.

Ji In-hae, a researcher at Hanwha Investment & Securities, said, "A notable point is that music and merchandise sales hardly decreased," adding, "Music sales recorded 18.1 billion KRW in the second quarter, the second highest figure following the record 22.4 billion KRW in the first quarter of this year when BLACKPINK held an online concert," and explained, "this is because domestic and international music and YouTube advertising revenues are steadily being generated."

Advertising revenue is understood to have increased by 5 billion KRW compared to before from YouTube, and the increase is also attributed to TS Shampoo by GD as well as the four BLACKPINK members who are active as muses for luxury brands.

Hanwha Investment & Securities expects growth in all areas including albums, music, MD, and music services due to new activities planned for the second half, such as Akdong Musician with good music performance, BLACKPINK's Lisa solo, iKON, BLACKPINK, and online concerts within the year, and raised the target stock price from 62,000 KRW to 77,000 KRW. Hyundai Motor Securities raised it to 78,000 KRW, while Cape Investment & Securities and NH Investment & Securities raised it to 80,000 KRW and 85,000 KRW respectively.

The recent six-month average target price from all securities firms is 75,200 KRW, which is 29.5% higher than the previous six-month average target price of 58,091 KRW.

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