[Click eStock] "'Q2 Profit Turnaround' SK Square, Target Price Maintained"

Daishin Securities maintained a buy rating and a target price of 96,000 won for SK Square on the 14th, stating, "The discount rate compared to net asset value (NAV) remained at 67%, the same level as in the first quarter of this year. Additional shareholder returns of 240 billion to 400 billion won are expected by next year."

On the same day, Kim Hoe-jae, a researcher at Daishin Securities, said, "With SK Hynix turning profitable in the second quarter of this year, SK Square's equity investment gains also turned positive. The performance and indicators of major subsidiaries have improved." SK Square's operating revenue in the second quarter was 470 billion won, down 13% from the same period last year, while operating profit turned positive at 780 billion won.

During this period, Commerce recorded operating revenue of 170 billion won, down 32% from the same period last year, and operating losses continued at 18.3 billion won. However, profitability improved due to marketing efficiency. Since March, the open market has been profitable on a monthly basis for four consecutive months.

Platform operating revenue was 160 billion won, down 9% from the same period last year, with operating losses continuing at 5.7 billion won. Researcher Kim noted, "One Store's sales decreased by 23% to 33.3 billion won, but despite the decline in sales under a profitability-focused management strategy, net profit margin improved over the half-year period."

He also explained, "The corporate value was formed at 920 billion won after raising 20 billion won from Krafton in October last year and 10 million dollars from Digital Turbine in February (with an additional 40 million dollars planned to be raised in the future)."

Mobility operating revenue increased by 4% to 150 billion won. Operating losses continued at 11.7 billion won but improved by 6.3 billion won compared to the same period last year. T map achieved high growth by reaching 15 million monthly active users (MAU).

Researcher Kim added, "Additional shareholder returns of approximately 240 billion to 400 billion won are expected by next year," and "Shareholder returns are also anticipated through additional investments of 30-50% of other non-core portfolios, including 530 billion won from SK Shieldus investment performance and 260 billion won secured through recent liquidity of Krafton shares."