[Click eStock] "Hangul and Computer, Record High Separate Q2 Earnings... Bright Outlook for New Business"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji-hwan Park] IBK Investment & Securities evaluated that Hangul and Computer (030520) recorded an all-time high in separate basis earnings for the second quarter and has a bright outlook for new businesses such as the space industry. They presented a 'Buy' investment opinion and a target price of 37,000 KRW.

Lee Seung-hoon, a researcher at IBK Investment & Securities, stated, "The headquarters recorded an all-time high performance in the second quarter," and added, "Second quarter sales were 107 billion KRW, up 19.3% from the previous quarter, and operating profit was 17.5 billion KRW, up 31.9%." Although operating profit significantly declined year-on-year due to the disappearance of last year's mask special demand, he emphasized that operating profit on a separate basis reached 14.5 billion KRW with an operating profit margin of 47%.

Hancom Office has seen a continuous increase in new customers among B2B mid-sized companies, large corporations, and financial sectors, and by focusing its business direction on the cloud, the cost ratio has significantly decreased. While labor costs and the release of a new version of Office in the second half of the year may increase costs, it is analyzed that the annual operating profit margin on a separate basis is expected to exceed 35%. They signed a business agreement with NHN to supply DooRay, a smart work solution, and global companies are expected to target the overseas cloud market in the future.

Researcher Lee Seung-hoon said, "New CEO Kim Yeon-su has abundant experience in SaaS (Software as a Service) business through mergers and acquisitions and operations of related companies such as Belgium's iText and Taiwan's KDAN mobile, which provide PDF document services," and added, "Currently, most B2G and B2B customers purchase Hancom Office alone, but with the addition of DooRay, the sales unit price per customer is expected to increase." Furthermore, cloud cooperation with Amazon, which has been supplying Hancom Office since 2018, is expected to become visible in the second half of the year.

The announcement that Hancom Group will intensify its space business centered on its subsidiary Hancom Inspace is also positive. In the first half of next year, they plan to collaborate with the US-listed company Spire Global to launch low-earth orbit ultra-small satellites to collect various image data. They plan to build an all-in-one service capable of developing their own satellites and drones, collecting, analyzing, and interpreting high-resolution image data from global regions. Researcher Lee stated, "It is expected that various businesses related to agriculture, forestry, and disaster prevention and response will be concretized not only in Korea but also in Southeast Asia in the future."