[Click e-Stock] 8-Year-Old PUBG Still Drives Krafton's Growth

Operating Profit Expected to Grow 25% Again This Year
Battlegrounds Remains on the Rise... New Titles Also Gaining Momentum

Krafton is expected to deliver strong results again this year, as "PUBG: Battlegrounds," which marks its 8th anniversary, continues to show growth.

On the 30th, NH Investment & Securities maintained its target price for Krafton at 550,000 won and its "Buy" investment rating, citing this background. The firm also continued to name Krafton as its top pick in the gaming sector. The previous day's closing price was 370,000 won.

Krafton recorded sales of 874.2 billion won and operating profit of 457.3 billion won in the first quarter. Compared to the same period last year, these figures represent increases of 31.3% and 47.3%, respectively. Operating profit far exceeded the market consensus of 386.4 billion won. In detail, thanks to the 8th anniversary event for Battlegrounds, PC sales rose 32.8% year-on-year to 323.5 billion won. Mobile sales also increased by 32.3% year-on-year to 532.4 billion won, driven by the strong performance of the Chinese version, "Heping Jingying."

Results are expected to continue growing steadily this year. NH Investment & Securities estimates Krafton's full-year results at 3.234 trillion won in sales and 1.483 trillion won in operating profit. These figures represent increases of 19.3% and 25.5%, respectively, compared to the previous year. The firm analyzed that the strong performance of Battlegrounds and Heping Jingying will continue after the second quarter.

In fact, following the 8th anniversary event in March, the number of concurrent users on Steam for Battlegrounds rose to 1.4 million. Heping Jingying also maintained a strong sales ranking after its January update. With idol collaborations in the second quarter and two premium vehicle collaborations in the third quarter, the company is expected to continue its solid growth in the second and third quarters.

The new title "inZOI" is also performing well, reaching 1 million copies sold within a week of its release. With more than three updates and downloadable content (DLC) planned within the year, sales are expected to rise again. At this pace, annual sales of around 2 million copies are seen as easily achievable.

An Jae-min, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities, explained, "Battlegrounds is showing an astonishing growth rate for a game that is now eight years old," adding, "With new titles such as inZOI and Subnautica 2 gaining momentum in the second half, operating profit is expected to grow by more than 25% this year as well."