Do not go gentle into that good night, old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light, though wise men at their end know dark is right, because their words had forked no lightning they, do not go gentle into that good night.
Kakao Bank sees improving profitability, plans to go public
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By Jhoo Dong-chan
By Jhoo Dong-chan
Kakao Bank has turned a profit for the first time in the first quarter of this year. Observers expected it would take at least three years to start making money, but it took only 18 months since the internet-only bank was launched.
Kakao Bank said it will go public next year if the bank's uptrend continues.
“Kakao Bank will go public by the fourth quarter of next year if it posts a profit throughout the year and continues its uptrend next year,” a Kakao Bank official said.
“What really matters here is that we should maintain the current uptrend throughout the year. If not, the Korea Exchange won't allow us to go public.”
Kakao Bank's plan for an initial public offering (IPO) was first introduced during co-CEO Lee Yong-woo and Yoon Ho-young's press conference in July last year.
They said the bank would take the necessary steps this year, but market observers displayed their skepticism about the IPO because of its prolonged streak of losses last year.
“I thought it would take about four to five years for Kakao Bank to turn a profit,” said a domestic bank official who asked not to be named.
“It only took 18 months for the bank to become profitable. It's certainly amazing. Banks do not usually suffer a fluctuation in earnings. I believe the bank will successfully continue its profit-making trend throughout the year. There's no reason for Kakao Bank not to go public next year if the momentum continues.”
According to a financial report submitted by the Financial Supervisory Service, Kakao Bank posted a 6.6 billion won ($5.54 million) net profit in the first quarter of the year.
This is in stark contrast to its first two-month earnings where it recorded a 48.1 billion won and 37.6 billion won loss in the third and fourth quarters of 2017, respectively.
Utilizing the nation's most-widely used mobile messenger platform as its marketing device, Kakao Bank has so far attracted 9.3 million customers.
Kakao Bank said it will expand its boundary into the brokerage business this year under a partnership with Korea Investment & Securities ― the internet-only bank's largest shareholder.
Observers believe the number of customers will reach 10 million this year.