NHN to Proceed with Large-Scale Treasury Stock Cancellation Worth 110 Billion KRW by 2024

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] NHN announced on the 9th that it will proceed with the first share repurchase cancellation this month, promoting a large-scale cancellation of treasury shares worth 110 billion KRW by 2024.

NHN will conduct a special cancellation of 3,751,792 shares, equivalent to 10% of the total issued shares, over three years starting this year. This is NHN's first treasury share cancellation since its establishment, and the company plans to cancel all of the shares by additionally acquiring treasury shares for cancellation purposes on top of the 3,070,925 treasury shares currently held and eligible for cancellation by board resolution.

The announced scale of treasury share cancellation amounts to 107 billion KRW based on the previous day's closing price. With expectations of profit improvement in the second half centered on the gaming business, including the easing of web board game regulations and new releases, NHN anticipates shareholder return effects exceeding this amount with further stock price increases.

NHN plans to cancel 1,500,717 treasury shares, equivalent to 4% of the total issued shares this year. The cancellation amount is expected to reach 43 billion KRW based on the previous day's closing price and 74.8 billion KRW based on book value, with the cancellation scheduled for the 17th of this month.

NHN has recently continued efforts to stabilize its stock price and enhance shareholder value. This year alone, the company has newly purchased 1.48 million shares worth a total of 43.3 billion KRW in two rounds, executing approximately 2.4 times the initially planned shareholder return fund of 18.4 billion KRW for this year.

NHN has stated that it plans to use at least 30% of EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) on a separate basis from the previous fiscal year as a shareholder return fund over the next three years starting this year.

NHN CEO Woojin Jung said, “The shareholder return policy announced this time will be a starting point demonstrating the company's strong commitment to enhancing shareholder value,” adding, “We will focus on increasing corporate value through consistent shareholder return policies to build trust, along with continuous performance improvement and profitability enhancement.”