[Click eStock] "WantedLab, 1Q Record-High Earnings Expected"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] Hana Financial Investment initiated coverage on WantedLab on the 5th, expecting record-high earnings in the first quarter of this year, with a 'Buy' rating and a target price of 46,500 KRW.

Researcher Kim Doo-hyun of Hana Financial Investment stated, "We forecast 2022 earnings with sales of 52.7 billion KRW (66.2%, YoY) and operating profit of 12.2 billion KRW (101.1%, YoY)."

Researcher Kim analyzed, "Due to strong hiring indicators, significant sales growth in matching, additional client companies, expansion in quantity (Q) through automation of Geeks (a freelance matching specialized service), and revenue diversification from new businesses such as Free Onboarding and WantedSpace, performance growth is expected."

Researcher Kim explained, "The matching business recognizes 7% of the annual salary of candidates who are finally hired through the matching platform as revenue. In other words, hiring indicators such as the number of individual platform members and successful candidates are directly linked to the company's sales."

He evaluated, "As of the end of March 2022, the cumulative number of individual members reached 2.43 million, and the monthly number of successful candidates was 1,528, marking the highest monthly indicators. Given the hiring indicator trends, record-high earnings in the first quarter are fully achievable."

He added, "WantedLab's matching business can secure a margin rate of over 40%, thus it will continue to serve as a 'cash cow' in the future. Furthermore, revenue diversification through new businesses such as 'Geeks,' 'Free Onboarding,' and 'WantedSpace' is also expected."