[Click eStock] "3Q Strong Performance SettleBank, Expectations for External Growth Up"

Expansion of Presence through Continuous Partnerships with Various Platforms

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] Simple cash payment service provider SettleBank recorded its highest quarterly sales in the third quarter of this year. As it expands partnerships with major platforms such as Yanolja (accommodation) and Cream (limited edition clothing and accessories), expectations for further external growth are rising.

On the 16th, Shinhan Financial Investment analyzed SettleBank in this way. However, no investment opinion or target price was presented. The closing price on the previous day was 31,200 KRW.

SettleBank posted sales of 29.7 billion KRW and operating profit of 4.2 billion KRW in the third quarter of this year, increasing by 47.6% and 28.4% respectively compared to the same period last year. This is the highest quarterly sales ever recorded. Due to the effect of expanding merchant inflow, simple cash payment sales increased by 22.7% year-on-year to 12.3 billion KRW. In addition, all sectors including virtual accounts showed steady sales growth.

However, the operating profit margin fell to 29.2% from 25.5% in the previous quarter. This is mainly attributed to the increased proportion of sales from the less profitable Payment Gateway (PG) service.

Sales growth is expected to continue due to the expansion of large merchant inflow. Researcher Nam Minwook of Shinhan Financial Investment said, "SettleBank's core revenue source is the simple cash payment sector, and the inflow of large merchants leads to an increase in total transaction volume, driving sales growth in the simple payment sector." Already, in October, SettleBank's simple payment function was integrated into the domestic major accommodation platform 'Yanolja.' The simple payment function was also introduced to the limited edition clothing and accessories trading platform 'Cream' and the online game company Hangame.

As the simple payment market, which was previously centered on e-commerce, is expanding across all fields including culture and travel, significant external growth is expected. Researcher Nam said, "As planned in the second half of the year, the simple payment function was integrated into a major app store and a Chinese video social networking service (SNS) platform, and market share is gradually expanding," adding, "Considering future growth potential and sales diversification possibilities, there is high potential for stock price appreciation."

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