Krafton’s Target Price Rises Amid PUBG Growth Expectations
On April 2, SK Securities raised Krafton’s target price to 360,000 won and kept a “Buy” rating. The firm said Krafton remains undervalued given expected momentum from PUBG. Analysts forecast first-quarter results will beat consensus.
Updated financial outlook
Hyoji Nam, a researcher at SK Securities, led the revisions. She increased the first-quarter operating profit estimate by 34.3% and lifted the annual profit forecast by 11.2%.
SK Securities projects Q1 sales of 1.25 trillion won, up 43.6% year-on-year. Operating profit is seen at 441.4 billion won, down 3.5%, and net profit to controlling shareholders at 334.2 billion won, down 1.1%.
Platform performance and user metrics
PC revenue is expected at 349.4 billion won, a 9.0% increase year-on-year. Peak concurrent users reached a record 1.34 million last month.
Mobile revenue is forecast at 583.6 billion won, up 9.6% year-on-year. The Chinese title Game for Peace saw DAU rise to about 9,000 after map updates and a Ferrari tie-up.
Events and content drivers
SK Securities attributed gains to in-game events. The New Year rerun and a ninth-anniversary event boosted paying users.
Upcoming features include a Contender character enhancement system and a new mode, Xenopoint. A Payday mode is scheduled for May.
Costs, buybacks and operational outlook
Operating expenses are expected to jump 95.2% year-on-year to 813.8 billion won. This includes roughly 40 billion won in one-off labor costs linked to a voluntary resignation selection program.
SK Securities expects the labor cost burden to ease from the second quarter. Legal and mode-development costs should fall as projects complete.
As of March 31, Krafton had repurchased around 200 billion won in treasury shares. Additional buybacks and cancellations are considered likely.
Analyst view
SK Securities said the company looks undervalued amid strong PUBG momentum. The firm highlighted PUBG growth expectations as a key reason for the revised view.
Analysts expect new mode launches and ongoing updates to sustain traffic gains through the year.
This article was prepared for Filmogaz.com using the facts reported by SK Securities and related disclosures.
