[Click eStock] "Com2uS Faces Earnings Downturn Due to Zenonia Box Office Failure"

Shinhan Investment Corp. maintained a 'Neutral' investment rating on Com2uS on the 31st, citing the poor performance of 'Zenonia' as making a rebound in earnings difficult. No target price was provided.

Kang Seok-oh, a researcher at Shinhan Investment Corp., stated, "'Summoners War' intellectual property (IP) has failed to achieve success comparable to the original work in both 'Sky Arena' and 'The Hundred Years' War: Chronicle,' raising doubts about development capabilities. Despite 'Zenonia' being a previously popular IP, its initial performance has been weak, and until a new significant title is released, not only will earnings remain sluggish, but multiple de-rating (decline in price-to-earnings ratio) is also expected to continue."

Com2uS recorded an operating loss of 5.6 billion KRW in the second quarter, turning to a deficit compared to the same period last year. Kang analyzed, "Although revenue growth was seen compared to the previous quarter due to the start of the baseball season and the global launch of 'Summoners War: Chronicle,' losses persisted due to increased marketing expenses and higher outsourcing costs for subsidiaries. In particular, the early recognition of marketing expenses had a significant impact as 'Zenonia' was released at the end of the second quarter, unlike its revenue."

The performance of 'Zenonia' is expected to be reflected in the third quarter, but despite being a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), its first-quarter sales are anticipated to be weak. Kang said, "Although the daily sales level of MMORPGs ranked in the top 5 of mobile game revenue has decreased compared to previous years, 'Zenonia' only reached a peak sales rank of 7th and has currently fallen to around 35th to 40th place (35th as of the 30th). This situation calls for selective focus on new game projects."

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