[Click eStock] "CJ ENM, Labor Cost Structure Optimization"

Hana Securities raised the target price for CJ ENM to 110,000 KRW on the 8th, citing that the company's fourth-quarter earnings last year exceeded market expectations. The investment rating was maintained as 'Buy.'

Lee Ki-hoon, a researcher at Hana Securities, explained, "In the fourth quarter, CJ ENM recorded sales of 1.26 trillion KRW and an operating profit of 58.7 billion KRW. While sales decreased by 14% compared to the same period last year, operating profit increased by 788%."

He added, "The operating profit exceeded market expectations by 29.1 billion KRW," and "personnel expenses decreased by approximately 44 billion KRW compared to the second quarter of last year."

He analyzed, "Operating profit by segment was 35.4 billion KRW for music and 26.0 billion KRW for commerce," and noted, "Tving surpassed 4 million subscribers, and the burden of depreciation expenses eased, reducing the scale of losses." He emphasized, "Despite Studio Dragon turning to a loss in films and dramas, a total of four deliveries, including two dramas from the fifth season, achieved a profit of 19.4 billion KRW."

The researcher explained, "Following the third quarter of last year, another round of personnel cost structure efficiency and the steep profit improvement of the fifth season are reflected, maintaining CJ ENM as the top pick within the media sector."

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