Hecto Financial Achieves Record-High Revenue and Operating Profit Last Year... Accelerates Global Business Expansion

Global fintech company Hecto Financial announced on March 12 that it achieved record-high revenue and operating profit last year.

원본보기 아이콘

On a consolidated basis, Hecto Financial posted revenue of 187.4 billion won and operating profit of 15.6 billion won. These figures represent increases of 17.7% and 17.2%, respectively, compared to the previous year.

Last year, all of Hecto Financial's business segments grew evenly. Revenue from easy cash payments and electronic payment gateway (PG) services grew by 26.4% and 15.5%, respectively, year-on-year. Other revenue, including overseas settlement services, also increased by 9.1% compared to the previous year. The expansion of high-margin proprietary membership services, such as "My Account Payment," drove these results.

Despite implementing a big bath (strategic recognition of large-scale losses) based on its record-high annual net profit, Hecto Financial's net income amounted to 8.8 billion won, a decrease of only 1.7% year-on-year. The big bath is an accounting practice that conservatively addresses potential risks to eliminate financial uncertainty and does not involve an actual cash outflow. Hecto Financial strengthened its growth foundation by removing risks such as losses from the impairment of goodwill in subsidiaries.

The agenda for the shareholders' meeting includes a plan for a cash dividend of 220 won per share, with the total dividend amounting to about 3% more than the previous year. Hecto Financial announced a "four-year shareholder return policy" in 2024 and has been steadily increasing its payout ratio each year. Last year, it also conducted a bonus issue, providing shareholders with the benefit of treasury stock cancellation equivalent to approximately 3.6 billion won.

This year, Hecto Financial will accelerate its global business. The company plans to establish overseas subsidiaries in key global regions to launch stablecoin-based global payment and settlement services, and also intends to introduce services targeting the international remittance market.

Hecto Financial is already participating as a public testnet partner for "Arc," the stablecoin-dedicated mainnet of Circle, the issuer of USDC. The company has also joined Circle's stablecoin payment network, the Circle Payment Network (CPN), thereby securing cross-border settlement infrastructure utilizing stablecoins.

CPN is a stablecoin-based payment network in which only about 20 of the world's top banks and payment institutions participate, and Hecto Financial is the only company from Korea involved. In addition, Hecto Financial has established a close partnership with Singapore-based stablecoin payment provider TripleA, further expanding its global stablecoin payment ecosystem partnerships.

To prepare for the activation of fractional investment following the legalization of the STO (Security Token Offering) market, Hecto Financial is also preparing to expand its market for STO investment accounts. Thus far, the company has established its position in the STO market by providing virtual account solutions to art piece fractional investment platforms.

Jongwon Choi, CEO of Hecto Financial, stated, "In line with the upcoming institutionalization of digital assets in Korea, we will lead the next generation of financial services, including stablecoin-based global remittance and STO fund settlement, by integrating digital asset payments and foreign exchange functions. We will pursue a balanced approach between profitability-driven strategies and investment in future financial infrastructure to ensure sustainable growth in corporate value."

© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.