Annual sales 6 yen, Naver stock price lowest
‘Kakao in controversy over eating out of executives’ also fell
‘Youngchul’ employees, fear of loss grows
[아시아경제 강나훔 기자] # Kim Jin-kyo (36), who works at an IT company in Pangyo, is in danger of being pushed into ‘house poor’ recently. Recently, he moved to Pangyo with credit loans and company subsidies (collecting souls), but it was difficult to afford the high interest rates. I was planning to sell my treasury stock, which I bought a lot last year, and pay off the loan with a hefty bonus, but even this has not been easy due to the continuous decline in the stock price.
◆All-time high performance, stock price bottom = Despite the record-breaking performance of the domestic IT and game industries on the 28th, the stock price is trembling because of the endlessly declining stock price. Naver posted an all-time high in the fourth quarter of last year and exceeded 6 trillion won in annual sales for the first time in the company’s history, but the faces of its employees are not so bright. This is because stock prices of domestic and foreign tech stocks, including Naver, are at their lowest throughout the year due to concerns about the US Federal Reserve’s early tightening and interest rate hikes.
At the beginning of last year, Naver granted 1.11 million stock options to 3,253 employees. The exercise price is 362,500 won and can be exercised from February next year. However, the stock price of Naver, which had risen to 454,000 won in September last year, fell to 303,000 won on the 27th, to the extent that employees exchanged words with each other saying, ‘My stomach is burning’.
Cacao is in a similar situation. The company granted stock options of 470,000 shares to 2,506 employees in May last year. The event price is 114,040 won. However, the stock price of Kakao fell to 82,600 won on the 27th due to the infringement of alley commercial rights and the controversy over ‘stock option eating’ by the management of affiliates.
The SI industry, which is making record-breaking results, is also in tears. The stock price of Samsung SDS, the only listed among the three SI companies, is currently hovering around 130,000 won. Compared to the beginning of last year, when it soared to 230,000 won, it is about 40% lower. This is similar to March 2020, when the stock market bottomed out due to the spread of COVID-19. Samsung SDS posted 13.63 trillion won in annual sales last year, a record high. As in previous years, we were faced with a situation in which we had to expect a performance-based pay, but we were faced with a situation where we had to pay attention to our shareholders due to the drop in the share price.
◆Employee investment, company problems = Loss due to employees’ investment in real estate and assets is a headache at the company level as well. According to FnGuide, Krafton’s estimated sales in the fourth quarter of last year were 622.5 billion won, and it is expected to exceed 600 billion won in sales in a single quarter for the first time since its establishment. But the stock is at the bottom. As of the closing price on the 27th, Krafton’s stock price fell by 40% from the IPO price to 264,000 won. It fell below the psychological defense line of 300,000 won. The value of our employee stock ownership is 70 million won per person, and the loss amounted to about 50 million won.
There is also the possibility of counter-trading. The stocks of Krafton employees who received a loan to acquire employee stock through Korea Securities Finance Corporation will be forcibly disposed of if the collateral ratio cannot be maintained due to a decline in the share price under the loan terms and conditions. In the end, Krafton decided to provide additional collateral by paying new deposits for members who received loans through Korea Securities Finance Corporation when acquiring employee stock.
To defend the share price, the company is actively pursuing share buybacks. Naver decided to pay out 501 won per common share, a total of 73.8 billion won, based on 162.1 billion won of financial resources. After the dividend, the remaining 87.3 billion won will be acquired as treasury stock and canceled within this year. Kakao Pay, which has been plagued by controversy over management’s ‘stock option scam’, plans to use all of the profits earned by its executives from the exercise of stock options to purchase treasury stock. Kakao Pay CEO Shin Won-geun also said that he would not sell treasury stocks during his tenure.
Reporter Nahum Kang nahum@asiae.co.kr
