[Click eStock] "Netmarble, New Game Release... Q3 Profit Turnaround Expected"

NH Investment & Securities Report

NH Investment & Securities forecasted on the 31st that Netmarble could turn profitable from the third quarter onwards, supported by the release of new games. Accordingly, they upgraded their investment rating to Buy and raised the target stock price from 60,000 KRW to 75,000 KRW.

Researcher An Jaemin of NH Investment & Securities stated, "Based on the game licenses obtained last December, four games (A3: Still Alive, Shop Titan, The Second Country, Stone Age) are expected to be released in China over the second and third quarters, allowing royalty income." He added, "Considering that multiple games, including 'Lineage 2: Revolution' and 'Blade & Soul Revolution' contracted with Tencent, are likely to receive additional licenses, the momentum in China is expected to continue."

Researcher An also noted, "'Modoo Marble 2,' scheduled for global release in May, applies Play to Earning (P2E)-based non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and is expected to perform well in the casual game market, building on the success of its predecessor." New releases such as 'Solo Leveling: ARISE' and 'Arthdal Chronicles' are also imminent in the second half of the year.

However, the first-quarter performance is expected to be weak. Estimated sales are projected to increase by 4.8% year-on-year to 661.8 billion KRW, but operating losses are expected to continue at 19 billion KRW.

He said, "Although operating losses, which worsened since the first quarter of last year, are still ongoing, we expect a turnaround to profitability starting from the third quarter of this year."