Suseong Webtoon Expects Improved Financial Structure

KOSDAQ-listed company Suseong Webtoon announced on December 5 that it has been exempted from a payment obligation of 9.45 billion won by its largest shareholder, Toomics Holdings. The company is also in the process of converting the remaining amount of approximately 9.3 billion won into equity. Suseong Webtoon expects a significant improvement in its financial structure as a result.

Through an agreement, Suseong Webtoon decided to waive about half of the remaining payment of 18.83 billion won from the stock purchase agreement signed in October last year. For the remaining 9.38 billion won, the board of directors of Toomics Holdings has already resolved to convert the entire amount into equity at a par value of 5,000 won per share.

Suseong Webtoon explained that it is currently proceeding with the relevant procedures. Although the equity conversion still requires administrative and legal approvals, the company believes that the formalized plan by the largest shareholder to increase capital will lead to a reduction in debt.

The company expects that the debt waiver will improve its financial indicators, including a decrease in the debt ratio and a reduction in interest expenses. Since net assets will increase without any cash outflow, the company also sees this as a positive for its short-term liquidity.

A Suseong Webtoon representative stated, "With the support of the major shareholder, our debt structure has been reorganized, strengthening our financial stability," and added, "Once the equity conversion process is completed, our capital base will be further enhanced."

This year, the company officially restructured its webtoon platform business around Toomics. In the first half of the year, Toomics recorded sales of 26.1 billion won and operating profit of 5.2 billion won, continuing its growth trend compared to the previous year. The company explained that with overseas paid subscription sales accounting for over 80 percent, its global subscription-based revenue model has stabilized.

With the reduction of financial risk through this debt settlement, Suseong Webtoon now has the capacity to focus investment on strengthening its content platform business and IP-based revenue structure. A company representative said, "Having secured management stability, we plan to focus on expanding our global subscription model and increasing the utilization of our content IP."