Kiwoom Securities forecasted on the 5th that by confirming Hancom's artificial intelligence (AI)-related business in the second half of the year, it will be possible to gauge its growth potential for next year.
Kim Hak-jun, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, stated in a report on the same day, “Hancom's consolidated results for the third quarter of this year are expected to show sales of 68.3 billion KRW and operating profit of 9.6 billion KRW, representing increases of 19.9% and 272.2% respectively compared to the same period last year,” and analyzed, “Hancom Office's sales in the third quarter are expected to reach 36.5 billion KRW, with growth driven by increased cloud sales.”
He particularly noted that with marketing expenses lower in the second half compared to the first half, third-quarter profits are expected to approach an all-time high.
He added, “The AI-related POCs currently underway are expected to transition into pilot projects in the second half. In that case, since full-scale sales will begin next year as the main business, once it is confirmed how many pilot projects proceed, it will be possible to estimate next year’s AI sales.”
He explained that the cloud sales currently driving revenue growth also contributed to performance as they transitioned from pilot projects last year to main business this year.
He projected, “Next year, Hancom’s AI division sales will be around 15 billion KRW, cloud sales about 80 billion KRW, and on-premises sales approximately 90 billion KRW,” and analyzed, “Key areas to watch in the second half include ▲ AI pilot projects ▲ securing overseas sales channels ▲ divestment of the Lifecare defense sector and M&A of AI-related companies ▲ and shareholder return policies.”
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