[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] City Labs, an ICT (Information & Communication Technology) solution company based on 4th industrial revolution technology, recorded a net profit of 1.1 billion KRW in the first quarter on a consolidated basis, turning to black with an increase of about 2.4 billion KRW compared to the same period last year.
On the 17th, City Labs announced through its earnings disclosure that its consolidated sales for the first quarter of this year reached 32.6 billion KRW, an increase of about 34.9% compared to the same period last year. Operating profit during the same period slightly decreased by about 400 million KRW, resulting in an operating loss of 100 million KRW.
The company explained that unlike the first quarter of last year, subsidiaries such as Unify and SearchPie, which were reflected on a consolidated basis this year, contributed to the sales increase, but their consolidated operating results were reflected as an overall consolidated loss. Nevertheless, excluding the decrease in non-operating expenses, the turnaround to a pre-tax profit shows that steady order performance based on the core business is continuing, indicating that the company is steadily laying the foundation for a performance turnaround.
A City Labs official stated, “City Labs, whose performance structure is formed mainly around order-based projects, continues to show steady growth in performance, recording solid sales growth of about 34.9% and 54.8% on consolidated and separate financial bases respectively, even in the first quarter, which is considered an off-season. In addition, efforts to secure financial soundness are showing results, such as the current ratio improving to nearly twice the level compared to the first quarter of last year, which had been considered a financial instability factor. We plan to make multifaceted efforts to restore market trust this year.”
The company expects that large-scale order achievements, such as the Jeju Smart City Challenge project, for which it was recently selected as the final business consortium candidate, will join the main performance lineup starting from the second quarter. Since last year, the company has been strengthening continuous sales activities mainly in the public sector (SOC) where technological demand is expanding through the application of 4th industrial revolution technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and big data to local government transportation systems for comprehensive function advancement and new infrastructure construction. The company plans to focus on improving performance aiming for a turnaround in the first half of the year.
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