[Click eStock] KeyEast, Clear Earnings Improvement... Strengthening Content Production Capabilities

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] IBK Investment & Securities announced on the 26th that KeyEast is expected to show a clear improvement in performance in the second half of the year. Researcher Lee Hwan-wook of IBK Investment & Securities stated, "Both scale and profitability are expected to improve significantly, and in the fourth quarter, Netflix original works such as 'Illumination' and 'No Secrets (scheduled for general programming)' will be reflected in the performance according to the production rate, making a slight turnaround to profitability possible." The annual expected sales for this year are 81.2 billion KRW (74.6%), and operating profit is expected to be at the break-even point. However, no investment opinion or target stock price was provided.

Founded in 1996, KeyEast is a comprehensive entertainment company listed on the KOSDAQ market in 2003. As a leading company in the domestic actor management industry, the company is currently undergoing structural improvement by strengthening its content production capabilities in line with the global expansion of demand for K-content.

The current business divisions are largely divided into content production and management, with sales proportions as of the first half of the year at 61.1% and 38.9%, respectively. Over the past three years, the dramas produced by the company include a total of 12 works such as Hyena (SBS), True Beauty (Netflix), and Only One Person (JTBC), and the content supply channels have diversified to terrestrial broadcasting, general programming, and global OTT platforms. Additionally, the company holds a portfolio of well-known actors such as Kim Dong-wook, Kim Seo-hyung, Go Ah-sung, Woo Do-hwan, and Hwang In-yeop, which is expected to create synergy effects with the increase in content production demand in the future.

Full-scale operating leverage is expected to occur next year. First, revenue recognition and IP (40% ownership) added value from Ask the Stars are expected to be reflected in the performance, and the number of productions next year is also expected to increase by two compared to this year, reaching a total of six.

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