[Edaily Reporter An Yu-ri ] Neptune Company(217270)announced on the 13th that it has decided to cancel its own shares for the first time since its IPO and will begin full-scale shareholder return initiatives.

Through a board resolution, the Neptune Company decided to cancel 1,081,286 shares out of the 1,801,049 treasury shares it had previously acquired and held. This amounts to approximately 2.31% of the total number of issued shares. Once the cancellation is complete, the number of treasury shares held will decrease to 719,763.

Starting with this treasury stock cancellation, Neptune Company plans to establish and implement policies aimed at shareholder returns and strengthening corporate value from a medium- to long-term perspective. To this end, the company has laid the groundwork for shareholder returns by reducing capital surplus by a total of 220 billion won—continuing the trend from last year—and transferring the amount to retained earnings.

In addition, Neptune Company plans to focus on improving its financial performance starting in the second half of this year to continuously enhance corporate value. Currently, Neptune Company is pursuing an ad-tech platform business in India through its Indian subsidiary (KRAFTON Ad Platform India) and is actively engaged in the development and publishing of hybrid casual mobile games.

Kang Yul-bin, CEO of Neptune Company, stated, “This share buyback and cancellation is highly significant as it marks the beginning of enhancing shareholder value for those who have trusted and stood by Neptune Company,” adding, “We will focus on ensuring that the achievements in our core and new business segments translate into financial results and will review various shareholder return measures.”