[Edaily Reporter Kim Hyung-il ] Business-to-Business (B2B) software company IQUEST Co., Ltd.(262840)announced on the 13th that it improved its profitability by increasing its cumulative consolidated net income for the first three quarters of this year by 79% compared to the same period last year.

IQUEST Co., Ltd. reported consolidated revenue of 31.5 billion won, operating profit of 2.4 billion won, and net income of 7.1 billion won for the first three quarters of this year. Net income increased by 79% compared to the same period last year. IQUEST Co., Ltd. explained that revenue growth from new AI products and a supply strategy focused on high-value-added products contributed to the improvement in profitability.

Improved performance at its subsidiary, Defocus, also contributed to the increase in consolidated net income. Defocus recorded cumulative revenue of 19.5 billion won and net income of 3.1 billion won for the third quarter, as revenue from a large-scale project underway in the first half of the year began to be fully reflected. Net income increased approximately 12-fold compared to the same period last year.

IQUEST Co., Ltd. plans to focus on expanding the market for its new AI-based “365 Series” products alongside its existing flagship product, the enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution “Eolmaeyo ERP.” The 365 Series consists of the integrated human resources management solution “HR365,” the electronic contract and document service “Sign365,” and the small business management notebook “Eolma365.” IQUEST Co., Ltd. plans to focus its efforts on establishing the new products in the market and securing new growth engines by the end of the year.

The company also plans to strengthen its shareholder return policy. Earlier this year, IQUEST Co., Ltd. paid dividends for the 16th consecutive fiscal year and was selected as a high-dividend company. In light of this year’s increase in net income, the company is considering expanding its year-end cash dividend and is also pursuing a plan to simultaneously repurchase and cancel its own shares.

Previously, IQUEST Co., Ltd. announced that it would repurchase and cancel all of its shares to reduce the number of outstanding shares and increase the value per share. The company’s policy is to enhance shareholder value through dividends and share buybacks and cancellations, alongside improved financial performance.

Kim Sun-mo, CEO of IQUEST Co., Ltd., stated, “We were able to achieve strong results thanks to the stable growth of our flagship products and the successful expansion of our AI product lines.” He added, “Since sharing our business performance with shareholders is central to our corporate value, we will actively explore shareholder-friendly policies that meet their expectations.”