Lee Woong-yeol, the honorary chairman of Kolon Group, along with the corporation itself, have been indicted on charges related to the tampering of the ingredient of Invossa Injection, a treatment for osteoarthritis. The first trial is anticipated to conclude in the first half of the year, with a dec
The author is an analyst for Shinhan Securities. He can be reached at sokang@shinhan.com -- Ed.4Q23 review: New game and profitability disappointNCsoft registered operating profit of KRW3.9bn (-91.9% YoY, -76.7% QoQ, operating margin of 0.9%) on sales of KRW437.7bn (-20.1% YoY, +3.5% QoQ) for 4Q23,
Following the largest fine ever imposed by the Fair Trade Commission due to a game item probability manipulation controversy, Nexon announced improvements just one week later.On Jan. 9, Nexon apologized for the recent controversy in a live broadcast starting at 6 p.m. and announced the suspension of
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at jaemin.ahn@nhqv.com -- Ed.Although sales of NCSOFT’s TL have arrived sluggish, initial payment for the title should be reflected alongside its global release. Moving ahead, we expect NCSOFT to display a change in strategy
Global glass manufacturing company Corning, which has an annual revenue of 20 trillion won (US$15.09 billion), is expanding its thin glass production hub in South Korea. Thin glass is gaining attention in the mobile industry as an essential component for foldable phones. This move is seen as a choic
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at jaemin.ahn@nhqv.com -- Ed.It is currently a key period for NCSOFT to make modifications and improvements to TL in order to address player complaints. Global beta tests scheduled for August/September could be an important i
Korean game companies are advancing into the Japanese market, which is considered a tough market for Korean game developers. Japan is a game market where Korean game companies have struggled due to different genre preferences and strong Japanese game companies represented by Sony and Nintendo. Howev
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at jaemin.ahn@nhqv.com -- Ed.Although NCSOFT’s recent CBT for TL resulted in some negative reviews, the firm is now making several improvements to the new title before the release of the official version. Once users play the
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at jaemin.ahn@nhqv.com -- Ed.NCSOFT is striving to overcome unfavorable game feedback from players and investors by achieving success with new games. CBT for TL in Korea is expected to be an inflection point. After the CBT, e
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at jaemin.ahn@nhqv.com -- Ed.We look forward to change of NCSOFT. Preparations are underway to reduce its sales portion for MMORPG titles (which has served as a disadvantage) and its domestic-centered business structure. If th
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at jaemin.ahn@nhqv.com -- Ed.Although quarterly operating losses have continued since 1Q22, the launch of new games not only in Korea but also overseas (especially in China upon gaining publishing rights from China’s National
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at jaemin.ahn@nhqv.com. -- Ed. While sales are falling ahead of the release of new titles, momentum related to TL (to launch in 2Q23) is rising. We recommend using share price dips as buying opportunities. Four new titles sche
The authors are analysts of Shinhan Securities. They can be reached at sokang@shinhan.com and inhae.ji@shinhan.com, respectively. -- Ed. Positive development toward removal of China's ban on Korean contentAmid rising expectations for the removal of China’s ban on Korean content, we pointed out i
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at jaemin.ahn@nhqv.com. -- Ed. A director’s preview of NCSOFT’s TL, one of the most anticipated titles of 1H23, has been released. As a game designed to be easily enjoyed by anyone, TL is expected to attract a range of global
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at jaemin.ahn@nhqv.com. -- Ed. NCSOFT had postponed the launch target for new title TL to 2023. However, with the main reason behind the delay being the working out of collaborations with overseas partners, expectations of suc
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at jaemin.ahn@nhqv.com. -- Ed. Although sales of NCSOFT’s existing games are on the decline, expectations are set to rise on the release of information related to both TL (scheduled to be launched in 2H22) and the firm’s 2023
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at jaemin.ahn@nhqv.com. -- Ed. Although inevitably having entered a downward stabilization stage, sales of Lineage W remain solid and are to continue propelling 2022 earnings growth. Expectations for Throne and Liberty (TL), L
The authors are analysts of Shinhan Investment Corp. They can be reached at sokang@shinhan.com and kimaram@shinhan.com, respectively. -- Ed. 1Q earnings review: Sales and profit both exceed expectationsNCsoft posted operating profit of KRW244.2bn (+330.4% YoY, 123.1% QoQ; operating margin of 30.9%)
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at jaemin.ahn@nhqv.com. -- Ed. Expectations towards NCSOFT’s new game releases are to be reflected bit by bit from 2H22. Its 1Q22 results should arrive solid on Lineage W effects.Looking forward to new titles in 2H22- We maint
The author is an analyst of KB Securities. He can be reached at drlee@kbfg.com. -- Ed. Maintain BUY, lower target price 19.4% to KRW750,000 We maintain BUY on NCsoft but lower our TP by 19.4% to KRW750,000. Our DCF-based TP (7.89% WACC; 2.00% TGR) implies 23.0x P/E. We revise down 2022E OP by 29.1%