[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] KB Securities analyzed on the 27th that the effect of introducing new client companies for Cucon will be fully realized from the second half of the year.

Cucon, a subsidiary of the Webcash Group, is the largest business data platform company in Korea that provides information necessary for MyData and simple payment services in the form of APIs. It operates the payment sector, which offers services such as simple payments and virtual accounts, and the data sector, which provides personal and corporate information.

In the second quarter of this year, on a consolidated basis, it recorded sales of 16.1 billion KRW and operating profit of 5.2 billion KRW, representing increases of 4.2% and 23.8% respectively compared to the same period last year. The operating profit margin was 32.2%. Sales by sector were 7.4 billion KRW in the data sector and 8.1 billion KRW in the payment sector.

In the data sector, growth in scale and profitability was achieved due to increased API usage by existing users, while the payment sector saw a decrease in scale due to the introduction effect of open banking.

Researcher Lee Kyungeun of KB Securities stated, “The launch of new APIs and the effect of introducing new client companies will be fully realized in the second half of the year.” He analyzed, “In the third quarter, margin may decrease somewhat due to revenue recognition from system construction, but in the fourth quarter, when API usage is expected to increase, the profit margin is also likely to improve.”

He added, “On the 23rd, the Financial Regulatory Innovation Meeting deliberated on measures to revitalize platform finance by financial companies and the pilot operation of platform financial product brokerage.” He predicted, “If these measures are fully applied, online savings/deposits, insurance, and P2P product comparison/recommendation services will become possible.”

Furthermore, he said, “Cucon has completed development not only for the currently serviced loan comparison products but also for savings/deposits, insurance, and card comparison/recommendation services.” He expressed expectations that “if the platform financial product brokerage market blossoms, Cucon will be able to establish a long-term growth engine.”