[Reporter Reading Securities Report] Will Naurobotics Ride the Robot Boom to IPO Success?

Intelligent Robotics Specialist Aims to Raise Up to 17 Billion KRW
Operating Loss of 2.8 Billion KRW in Q3 Last Year... Profitability Expected by 2026

Now Robotics has submitted its securities registration statement and officially launched its initial public offering (IPO). Now Robotics is currently operating at a loss and expects to turn profitable only by 2026. However, the recent spotlight on robot-related stocks in the stock market is expected to act as a positive factor in the IPO market.

Now Robotics is an intelligent robot specialized company established in 2016. It possesses a variety of robot products ranging from industrial robots such as ▲pick-and-place robots ▲Cartesian robots ▲articulated robots ▲SCARA robots to autonomous logistics robots. As of the third quarter of last year, industrial robots accounted for 47.35% of total sales.

Sales increased from 8.3 billion KRW in 2021 to 10.4 billion KRW in 2023. However, operating profit turned into an operating loss of 5.5 billion KRW from a profit of 1.2 billion KRW. Up to the third quarter of last year, sales were 6.5 billion KRW with an operating loss of 2.8 billion KRW.

Now Robotics is aiming to enter the KOSDAQ through a technology special listing. When listed via technology special listing, companies present future performance forecasts, and the company expects to turn profitable in 2026. The company and its underwriter, Daishin Securities, estimated that last year sales were 12.1 billion KRW with an operating loss of 2.8 billion KRW. However, this year, sales are expected to reach 16.5 billion KRW with an operating loss of 900 million KRW, and by 2026, sales of 25.5 billion KRW and operating profit of 1.5 billion KRW are projected.

Through the securities registration statement, the company explained, "Major clients reorder existing (robot) automation systems or order partially improved systems," adding, "Major clients tend to reorder from existing suppliers like our company to ensure manufacturing line reliability and immediacy of some improvements."

The total number of shares offered by Now Robotics is 2.5 million. The expected offering price range is 5,900 to 6,800 KRW, with an estimated total offering amount of 14.75 billion to 17 billion KRW.

Daishin Securities used the price-to-earnings ratio (PER) method to determine Now Robotics’ desired offering price. The PERs of comparable companies are 20.36 for Raontech, 13.08 for Zeus, and 56.44 for Samick THK. The average PER of these three companies is 29.96, with Samick THK being the factor that raised the overall average PER.

Applying Now Robotics’ estimated net income of 7.2 billion KRW in 2027, the per-share valuation was calculated at 9,478 KRW. Then, a discount rate of 28.25% to 37.75% was applied to derive the current desired offering price.

A positive factor is that robot-related stocks have recently attracted significant attention in the stock market. Global big tech companies are competing to manufacture humanoid robots. Additionally, due to the global supply chain restructuring promoted by former U.S. President Donald Trump, manufacturing companies in the U.S. are expected to actively adopt automation equipment, leading to increased demand for robots.

As a result, robot-related stocks have shown favorable price trends. Rainbow Robotics’ closing price as of the 5th of this month rose 115.12% compared to the end of last year, while related stocks such as SPC Systems (101.14%), Doosan Robotics (22.56%), and Angel Robotics (19.31%) also recorded significant gains.

Now Robotics plans to invest all the funds raised. Based on the lower end of the offering price, 7 billion KRW will be invested in facility funds to build a new factory. Additionally, 5.2 billion KRW will be allocated to research and development, and 2.3 billion KRW will be used for establishing overseas offices and marketing expenses to expand overseas presence in Mexico, the U.S., and Southeast Asia.