[Click eStock] Krafton, New State is Coming 'Hype Expected'

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] Korea Investment & Securities announced on the 12th that it maintains a Buy rating and a target price of 580,000 KRW for Krafton. The target price is based on applying a price-to-earnings ratio (PER) of 25 times to the expected net profit for 2022.

Jung Ho-yoon, a researcher at Korea Investment & Securities, explained, "The pre-registrations for Battlegrounds New State reached 55 million," adding, "Compared to other games in similar genres, the graphic quality is high and it is well optimized for mobile, so we believe the potential for success is sufficiently high."

He continued, "Recently, Krafton acquired Unknown Worlds, which allows for diversification of IPs, a positive factor in the long term," and added, "In particular, the new title from Unknown Worlds, currently under development with a planned release next year, is expected to become a meaningful IP."

Krafton is considering incorporating NFT (Non-Fungible Token) elements into its games but is currently reviewing whether combining NFTs will enhance the fun of the game or help expand the ecosystem.

Meanwhile, third-quarter sales increased by 13.6% quarter-on-quarter to 521.9 billion KRW, and operating profit rose by 12.1% to 195.3 billion KRW. PC sales achieved 129.5 billion KRW, up 46.2% from the previous quarter. The increase in ARPU due to diversification of large-scale maps and business models had a positive effect. Mobile sales reached 380.5 billion KRW, up 7.5% quarter-on-quarter. Sales increased as mobile-optimized content was added to a solid user base, and the launch effect in the India region also contributed. Battlegrounds Mobile India, released in July, recorded an average MAU of 42 million in the third quarter, achieving success. Total operating expenses were 326.6 billion KRW, up 14.5% quarter-on-quarter. The main factors for the increase in costs were labor costs, app store fees, and stock compensation expenses due to the rise in stock price.

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