[Featured Stock] NCSoft Forecasts Q2 Loss, Down 3.15%

The stock price of NCSoft, which is expected to report an operating loss in the second quarter of this year, is weak. As of 9:43 a.m. on the 2nd, NCSoft is trading at 178,300 KRW, down 5,800 KRW (3.15%) from the previous trading day.

On the same day, Hanwha Investment & Securities maintained a buy rating on NCSoft but lowered the target price from 240,000 KRW to 220,000 KRW. So-hye Kim, a researcher at Hanwha Investment & Securities, said, "Reflecting the decline in mobile sales and the increase in costs, we have lowered the expected operating profit for this year and next year by 22% and 6%, respectively, compared to previous estimates. The management reform and strong cost-efficiency measures are positive. Only significant revenue growth through the success of new releases will lead to a reversal in the stock price trend."

She added, "We estimate the second-quarter results to show sales of 382.2 billion KRW and an operating loss of 7.2 billion KRW, falling short of the market consensus operating profit of 8.6 billion KRW. As costs related to new releases increase, the decline in revenue from existing games will not offset this, making a quarterly operating loss inevitable." She further noted, "PC lineup sales are expected to be similar to the previous quarter, but mobile sales excluding Lineage M are understood to have dropped significantly compared to the previous quarter."