"NHN Expected to Benefit from Introduction of KRW Stablecoin…Target Price Raised"-NH

On the 25th, NH Investment & Securities stated that "NHN is expected to benefit if the KRW stablecoin is introduced" and raised its target stock price from 22,000₩ to 43,000₩. The investment opinion remained 'Buy.'

Jae-Min Ahn, an analyst at this securities firm, remarked, "NHN, as the number one domestic payment gateway (PG) company, has a high possibility of expanding its business in relation to the KRW stablecoin," and, "If payments and remittances become possible using the KRW stablecoin, fintech businesses applying stablecoins can be easily pursued by leveraging the payment network established through its PG business."

He continued, "Following the T-Mon and WeMakePrice (WMP) incident last year, the Payco business, which had been downsized, may also be revived," and added, "As the third-largest simple payment service provider in Korea, Payco has been restructuring since the large-scale insolvency at WeMakePrice last year."

He further emphasized, "With the introduction of the KRW stablecoin market, the importance of simple payment providers will be highlighted again," and, "Synergy with NHN is also anticipated."

The outlook also suggests that NHN will return to a normalization phase in its performance this year. NH Investment & Securities forecast NHN's revenue this year to rise 6.1% year-on-year to 2.6 trillion₩, and operating profit to swing to a surplus at 122.9 billion₩.

Analyst Ahn noted, "As the impact from 140.7 billion₩ in bad debt expenses on receivables related to the WeMakePrice incident last year disappears, operating profit will return to a normalization phase," and added, "If the long-struggling game business also revives, it could lead to meaningful growth in earnings."

Jung-Sam Go, Hankyung.com reporter jsk@hankyung.com