Nasdaq’s congratulatory message on Yanolja’s acquisition of Go Global Travel (GGT) posted on the Nasdaq Market site in Times Square, New York, May 16, 2023.Provided by Yanolja
Travel app’s first annual profit in cloud business raises expectations for IPO
Written by Anna J. Park
Yanolja achieved its first profit in the global cloud business last year, leading to market expectations that the travel tech company could launch an initial public offering (IPO) on the U.S. stock market at some point this year. is increasing. The company previously said stable growth in its cloud business would be a key prerequisite for going public.
Additionally, the travel app company’s Manhattan office (its 50th international branch) opened last month, and the company appointed Alexandre Ibrahim, whose extensive industry experience includes time at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), as CFO. Endeavor Catalyst Fund and others are raising market expectations that Yanolja will launch an IPO on the U.S. stock market.
Mr. Ibrahim is said to be actively working within the company from his Manhattan office, and investment banking officials say Yanolja will submit preliminary documents to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in preparation for a public listing in the first half of this year. ). . The company’s founder and CEO Lee Soo-jin also reportedly discussed the company’s IPO goal of making its U.S. stock market debut by the end of this year with financial investors.
Cloud business drives Yanolja’s revenue growth
Yanolja’s cloud division recorded annual revenue of 173.3 billion won ($128 million) last year, a 60% increase compared to 2022, according to the electronic disclosure system operated by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). The company turned a profit of 8.3 billion won from an operating loss of 17.1 billion won the previous year.
Yanolja Founder and CEO Lee Soo-jin / Provided by Yanolja
This turnaround was primarily due to strong sales increases in the third and fourth quarters of last year, both of which recorded more than 80% year-over-year growth.
The acquisition of Go Global Travel (GGT) in July last year was also credited as a key factor driving the growth of Yanolja’s cloud solutions business. GGT is a company that operates in 206 countries around the world and provides a wide range of services such as hotel and resort room distribution rights, airline ticket sales, and vehicle rental services.
“The cloud division plays a key role in Yanolja’s latest global expansion, ensuring high revenue growth and profitability in its global solutions business. With a global network of travel service providers, Yanolja aims to strengthen its strong global position,” the company said.
Market analysts note that Yanolja’s impressive growth in cloud services is expected to drive the company’s future revenue growth.
KB Securities analyst Lee Soo-kyung said, “Given the trend of digital transformation in the global travel industry, growth in the cloud sector is expected to be an important source of Yanolja’s overall revenue growth.” .
Choi Ji-ho, an equity analyst at Samsung Securities, said Yanolja needs to “solidify its foundation as a business-to-customer (B2C) online travel agency (OTA) while expanding its market” to justify its high valuation. There is a need.” Gain market share of business-to-business (B2B) travel technology solution services in the global market. ”
Corporate value evaluation
The important question that remains is whether Yanolja will be able to achieve the corporate value of over 10 trillion won, which is the goal of SoftBank Vision Fund, the largest shareholder with 24.93% of Yanolja’s shares.
Since the fund injected about 2 trillion won into Yanolja based on the company’s valuation of about 8 trillion won in 2021, the venture capital firm has said that the desired valuation is at least 10 trillion won to get meaningful returns from the investment. I was looking forward to Won.
However, the company’s unlisted shares are traded on over-the-counter platforms at a valuation level of approximately 6 trillion won, raising concerns about whether the company will be able to convince the market of an even higher valuation.
