[Edaily Marketin YunJi Kim Reporter] Amid a string of disappointing earnings reports from companies listed under the technology special listing program, AJU IB INVESTMENT CO., LTD.(027360)has finally something to smile about. This comes as MEZOO Co., Ltd., a mobile remote patient monitoring company in AJU IB INVESTMENT CO., LTD.’s investment portfolio, not only surpassed the annual revenue estimate presented at its initial public offering (IPO) within just the third quarter of its first year as a publicly traded company but also achieved an operating profit. With many companies failing to meet the earnings forecasts they set at the time of their IPOs, MEZOO Co., Ltd.’s better-than-expected results are seen as a positive sign for AJU IB INVESTMENT CO., LTD.’s ability to recoup its investment.

According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 2nd, MEZOO Co., Ltd. recently announced in a preliminary earnings disclosure that its cumulative revenue for the first three quarters of this year reached 15.675 billion won, a 193.2% increase compared to the same period last year. This figure surpasses the annual revenue estimate of approximately 15.4 billion won presented at the time of its initial public offering (IPO) in just nine months. During the same period, operating profit reached 3.924 billion won, marking a turnaround from the operating loss of 2.176 billion won recorded in the same period last year. Considering that the company had projected an operating loss of approximately 900 million won for this year at the time of its listing, both revenue and profit have significantly exceeded initial forecasts.

In the third quarter, operating profit more than doubled compared to the previous quarter. Revenue reached 6.098 billion won, a 163.6% increase year-over-year, while operating profit rose 139.1% quarter-over-quarter to 2.092 billion won. The operating profit margin stood at 34.3%.

The drivers behind these strong results were the company’s flagship products: the “HiCardi M350” wearable patient monitoring device and the “LiveStudio” software platform. MEZOO Co., Ltd. supplies both medical devices that measure patients’ vital signs—such as electrocardiograms, respiration, and body temperature—in real time, and the software that analyzes this data. The company’s business model goes beyond simply selling devices to hospitals; as device usage increases, so do platform revenues. Analysts note that the expansion of device adoption by medical institutions has led to increased platform revenue, thereby supporting both revenue growth and improved profitability.

The focus on MEZOO Co., Ltd.’s financial performance is not unrelated to the recent controversy surrounding the earnings outlooks of companies listed under the technology exception category. This is because quite a few companies, despite entering the stock market on the strength of their technological capabilities, have fallen far short of their initially projected earnings after going public. In fact, according to the Financial Supervisory Service, among the 105 KOSDAQ-listed companies from 2022 to 2024 that set their initial public offering (IPO) prices based on estimated earnings, only six (5.7%) achieved all projected metrics—including revenue, operating profit, and net income—in the year of their listing. The survey included 93 companies listed under the technology and growth special listing categories.

Given MEZOO Co., Ltd.’s strong growth momentum, attention is also focused on whether AJU IB INVESTMENT CO., LTD. will be able to recoup its investment. AJU IB INVESTMENT CO., LTD. was one of the major financial investors (FIs) that participated in MEZOO Co., Ltd.’s pre-IPO funding round, and it has laid the groundwork for recouping its investment this year as key portfolio companies—including MEZOO Co., Ltd., Kanaph Therapeutics Inc., and IMBiologics Corp.—have successively listed on KOSDAQ. In particular, as MEZOO Co., Ltd. has continued to post earnings exceeding initial forecasts even after its listing, expectations are rising for the recovery of investment funds through future share sales.

Meanwhile, MEZOO Co., Ltd. plans to sustain its growth momentum by enhancing the functionality of its flagship products and developing follow-up products. Following the addition of an oxygen saturation measurement feature to the M350, the company is pursuing regulatory approval for a blood pressure measurement function and is also targeting the integrated monitoring market with its follow-up model, the M150W. Demand from medical institutions is expected to increase if these features are covered by national health insurance reimbursement rates. Whether the future expansion of the product lineup will translate into earnings growth is expected to determine MEZOO Co., Ltd.’s corporate value and the success of AJU IB INVESTMENT CO., LTD.’s capital recovery.