이 기사는 2021년 05월 17일 07:44 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.

Coway has reported record results in the January to March quarter, driven by strong growth in revenue from overseas markets, particularly Malaysia.

The South Korean rental company posted quarterly revenue of 879 billion won on a consolidated basis, up 14% on the same period last year, according to its preliminary report on Wednesday. Operating income of 170.7 billion won and net income of 125.8 billion won were also up 23% and 24%, respectively, year on year. The results were Coway’s strongest to date.

The record results are mainly driven by rapid growth in revenue from overseas markets, which rose 56% year on year to 294.2 billion won. This compares with domestic revenue, which was up 1.7% on last year’s first quarter. The company’s total rental accounts also increased to 8.46 million at the end of March thanks to an acceleration in the growth of overseas accounts.

Revenue from overseas markets has continued to grow in the past years, accounting for 33% of the total revenue in the first quarter versus 28% three months ago. That’s a significant increase from 2016, when more than 90% of the company’s revenue came from the domestic market.

Coway has operations in Malaysia, the US, China, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam. The Malaysian and US units accounted for 240.4 billion won and 42.9 billion won in revenue respectively in the first quarter. The company’s operations in the remaining countries are unprofitable on an annual basis.

“Revenue from Malaysia has been growing faster since the launch of mattress rental service in the country,” said an official at Coway. “Coway’s brand awareness and increased familiarity with rental service are driving revenue growth.”

Brokerage firm Daishin Securities estimated that Coway would have seen a record 171,000 net increase in its Malaysia rental accounts in the latest quarter. Coway, which entered the Malaysian market in 2006, dominates the country’s rental service market.

Analysts expect Coway’s revenue from Malaysia could reach just shy of 1 trillion won for the full year of 2021. Last year the figure was 708.5 billion won, up 35% year on year.

“Despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, our revenue has continued to grow both at home and abroad thanks to the launch of innovative new products and marketing campaigns,” chief financial officer Kim Soon-tae said. "We will continue to focus on our competitiveness in the domestic market and expand further overseas to drive solid growth." (Reporting by Seul-gi Kim)