Demand Forecast for Institutional Investors on January 10-11, 2025
Projected Operating Revenue of 46.8 Billion KRW in 2024... 80% Increase Compared to This Year's Estimate
Expecting Increased Demand for Efficient Marketing Techniques During Economic Downturn
[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] Amid a cooling IPO market, Martech solution provider Obzen has launched its listing on the KOSDAQ market. How much the 'blueprint' of nearly doubling sales in two years is recognized by institutional investors is expected to be a key indicator in determining the offering price.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service on the 12th, Obzen will issue 775,956 new shares for its KOSDAQ listing. The desired price range per share is 18,000 to 24,000 KRW. From January 10 to 11 next year, a two-day demand forecast will be conducted targeting institutional investors, and the offering price will be finalized. The company aims to list by the end of January, with Korea Investment & Securities acting as the lead underwriter.
Founded in 2000, Obzen provides Martech solutions based on big data and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. Martech is a portmanteau of Marketing and Technology. It refers to solutions that implement personalized marketing by integrating big data and AI technologies.
Obzen's representative Martech solutions include customer behavior-based real-time marketing solution (obzen Digital Marketing), real-time big data collection and processing solution (obzen BigData), and AI analysis solution for hyper-personalized marketing (obzen SmartAI). It is crucial to decide when, to whom, what benefits, and through which channels to provide in order to maximize marketing effectiveness. Over the past 20 years, Obzen has provided marketing solutions and maintained systems for over 100 companies, accumulating diverse industry know-how.
As of the third quarter cumulative this year, Obzen achieved operating revenue of 19.2 billion KRW, operating profit of 53 million KRW, and net profit of 63 million KRW. Operating revenue increased by 42.4% compared to the same period last year, and operating profit and net profit turned positive.
The lead underwriter Korea Investment & Securities and Obzen presented the 2024 net profit as the benchmark for determining an appropriate corporate value. They explained that while the existing Martech solution business is growing steadily, 2024 will be the year when sales begin to increase significantly through new growth engines such as subscription-based business and data distribution and resale business.
Korea Investment & Securities estimated Obzen’s operating revenue to increase to 26.1 billion KRW this year, 35.9 billion KRW next year, and 46.8 billion KRW in 2024. Net profit is expected to record 200 million KRW, 5 billion KRW, and 9.9 billion KRW during the same period.
The estimate suggests that operating revenue will increase by nearly 80% in two years. Future investor relations (IR) activities are expected to focus on proving growth potential. Institutional investors participating in the demand forecast are also likely to concentrate on verifying the feasibility of Obzen’s projected performance.
Lee Hyung-in, CEO of Obzen, expressed confidence, saying, "The demand from companies to effectively utilize customer information for marketing will increase," and "Interest in Martech solutions will steadily grow."
A financial investment industry official explained, "Considering the economic outlook for next year, companies will seek efficient marketing strategies," adding, "Even if overall marketing expenses decrease, demand for Martech solutions may increase." However, he added, "The demand forecast results for Bionote, the last company to list this year, were not favorable," and "The offering price is expected to be decided considering the overall market sentiment."
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