[Click eStock] "Mr. Blue, Eos Red Success... Expecting Performance Growth in the Second Half"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] KB Securities analyzed on the 13th that Mr. Blue's performance is expected to grow in the second half of the year due to the growth of the mobile game 'EOS Red'. No investment opinion or target price was presented.

Mr. Blue recorded sales of 17.3 billion KRW and operating profit of 3.6 billion KRW in the second quarter. This represents an increase of 111.2% and 275.0%, respectively, compared to the same period last year. Both the content business and the game business are showing simultaneous growth.

Researcher Sang-guk Lim of KB Securities explained, "By internalizing writers through an in-house production studio, an improvement in operating profit margin is expected," adding, "Compared to the typical cost structure where 60~70% of sales revenue is paid to writers, it is possible to reduce commission fees, and if sales of self-produced content such as _Musinjeongi_ expand further in the future, simultaneous growth in operating profit margin is expected."

He also expected continued growth in webtoons. He explained, "The number of subscribers continues to increase, and despite the subscription price increase in November last year, there was no significant churn of existing subscribers," adding, "It is understood that the number of customers newly purchasing monthly subscription passes is also increasing."

Growth in mobile games is also anticipated. He emphasized, "Performance growth in the second half of the year is expected due to the success of the mobile game _EOS Red_," adding, "In Taiwan, after surpassing 1.3 million pre-registrations, it was released in July, and with the simultaneous release of the iOS version, an increase in the number of subscribers is expected."