[Edaily Reporter Kwon Oh Seok ] Yuanta Securities Korea announced on the 30th that it is initiating coverage on NCsoftCorporation(036570)with a “Buy” rating and a target price of 370,000 won.

Choi Ji-woon, an analyst at Yuanta Securities Korea, stated, “Confidence in the sustainability of earnings is growing through the revitalization of legacy IPs and the expansion of in-game purchases. The simultaneous success of ‘Aion 2’ and ‘Lineage Classic’ has confirmed the potential for revenue recovery from existing IPs, and with the consolidation of JustPlay into the consolidated financials starting in the second quarter, visibility into revenue growth is expected to improve.”
He named NC as his top pick in the gaming sector, adding, “While ‘Lineage Classic’ and ‘Aion 2’ are driving the recovery of revenue based on legacy IPs, the proportion of in-game purchases in ‘Aion 2’ stands at approximately 80%, which is also helping to alleviate the burden of payment processing fees.” He further explained, “If the adoption of in-game purchases expands across the company’s entire game portfolio in the future, the potential for profit margin improvement is expected to grow even further.”
He continued, “It is also positive that the company has secured growth opportunities outside the MMORPG sector through the consolidation of JustPlay and the acquisition of a casual game developer. We believe there is a high likelihood that earnings estimates and valuation multiples will be revised upward if initial retention rates and Western market performance metrics are confirmed following the global launch of *Aion 2*, scheduled for September of this year.”
He emphasized, “We expect regional expansion through the launch of ‘Lineage 2M’ in China and the 2027 release of ‘Horizon Steel Frontiers’ to serve as additional upside factors going forward.”
The firm projected consolidated revenue of 2.6763 trillion won (up 78% year-over-year) and operating profit of 524.2 billion won (up 3,160%) for this year. Analyst Choi noted, “Lineage Classic recorded cumulative operating revenue of 192.4 billion won in the 90 days following its launch, and traffic and revenue have
rebound with each update, and the game is expected to maintain a stable performance trend,” he said.
He continued, “While we expect Aion 2’s second-quarter revenue to slow on a quarter-over-quarter basis, we anticipate a rebound in the third quarter following the Season 4 update and the global launch in September.” He added, “JustPlay, a reward-based mobile casual gaming platform, is scheduled to be consolidated starting in the second quarter
, and we need to take into account margin volatility in the early stages due to user acquisition (UA) costs.”