[Click eStock] "Krafton, Now It's Time to Dive into Subnautica 2"

On May 23, IBK Investment & Securities raised its target price for Krafton from 450,000 won to 500,000 won, citing strong performance from the recently released "Inzoi" and heightened expectations and corporate value for upcoming games, including the new title "Subnautica 2." The firm maintained its "Buy" investment rating.

In the first quarter, Krafton posted consolidated sales of 874.2 billion won (up 31.3% year-on-year) and operating profit of 457.3 billion won (up 47.3%), exceeding market expectations and setting a new quarterly record for the company.

Lee Seunghoon, an analyst at IBK Investment & Securities, stated, "In the PC segment, new premium content within the PUBG IP games has successfully established itself after launch, while Inzoi proved its potential by selling 1 million copies globally within just seven days of release." He added, "In the mobile segment, the number of purchasing users increased due to the launch of vehicle skins, IP collaborations, and local content, with a notable expansion of the purchasing user base in the Indian market." Although there were some cost increases due to new game development, workforce expansion, and increased marketing expenditures for PUBG PC and console, the company was able to recover high profitability thanks to a greater proportion of high-margin products.

Krafton is diversifying its game portfolio beyond its traditional focus on PUBG by introducing a new lineup of titles such as "Inzoi," "Subnautica 2," "Dingcom," and "Project AB." Analyst Lee noted, "With the reorganization of the publishing division and the introduction of a champion system, the company's internal capabilities are being strengthened around content selectivity, establishing a pipeline strategy focused on quality rather than quantity." He further projected, "To achieve the previously announced sales target of 7 trillion won, the company will pursue both M&A and localization investments in high-growth regions such as India and Western markets."