[Click eStock] "Digital Daesung, Online Lecture Membership Continues to Increase"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] Hana Financial Investment estimated on the 7th that Digital Daesung will achieve its highest-ever performance this year, as the number of online lecture members is steadily increasing.

Jung Mingu, a researcher at Hana Financial Investment, predicted, "This year, Digital Daesung will simultaneously achieve external growth and profitability improvement due to the steady increase in members of the e-learning division and the rise in average selling price (ASP)."

He continued, "With the recent trend of expanding the regular admission rate, demand for online lectures is increasing," and explained, "Since the presence of star instructors is a major criterion for students when choosing internet lectures, demand is concentrated on Megastudy and Digital Daesung, which have the most star instructors."

Researcher Jung emphasized, "Digital Daesung currently has seven star instructors as of early this year," and "expects to directly benefit from the increase in demand for internet lectures."

He stated, "Digital Daesung, which has secured a stable market share, has been continuously raising tuition fees since 2019," adding, "It increased from 210,000 KRW in 2019 to 320,000 KRW last year."

Researcher Jung analyzed, "Reflecting the effect of tuition fee increases this year, the profit margin of the e-learning division is expected to reach 15.5%, up 4.8 percentage points from the previous year."

This year, Digital Daesung's e-learning division is estimated to achieve sales of 117.8 billion KRW and operating profit of 18.2 billion KRW, representing increases of 33.1% and 85.7%, respectively, compared to last year.

Digital Daesung is also pursuing business diversification through the acquisition and merger of the reading and essay education company Hanuri and Gangnam Daesung Dormitory Academy. Researcher Jung said, "Based on Hanuri, the market leader in the reading discussion and essay field, there are plans to expand the online reading platform business," and added, "While Hanuri was previously an offline and student-centered service, it will expand its channels based on Digital Daesung's know-how in operating online education."

He also predicted, "Digital Daesung is expected to continue increasing highly profitable divisions by acquiring Gangnam Daesung Dormitory Academy," and said, "Gangnam Daesung Dormitory Academy will contribute to performance improvement starting this year, and Hanuri's online reading club will contribute from next year."