The Born Korea logs 6th straight quarterly loss as share price sits 62% below IPO level

The Born Korea, the restaurant franchise company led by Baek Jong-won, posted an operating loss for the third quarter, extending its streak of consecutive quarterly losses to six. The company's share price remains near an all-time low, having fallen more than 60 percent from its IPO price.

The Born Korea reported a consolidated operating loss of 3.7 billion won ($2.78 million) for the third quarter, the company said Friday. The losses have continued every quarter since the second quarter of last year, with cumulative operating losses over that period estimated at 41.2 billion won.

However, the third-quarter operating loss narrowed about 15 percent from 4.4 billion won in the same period last year and shrank roughly 33 percent from 5.6 billion won in the previous quarter.

Sales also slipped slightly to 85 billion won, down from 87.4 billion won in the same quarter last year.

The Born Korea said that, unlike last year when it poured large-scale support funds into its franchisees, it has focused this year on improving its bottom line through normal business operations. However, the company said ongoing investment in overseas expansion and building a retail business foundation means costs from some foreign subsidiaries will continue to weigh on its consolidated earnings for now.

The prolonged earnings slump has kept the share price under pressure. The Born Korea's stock closed Friday at 13,180 won, down more than 60 percent from its 2024 IPO price of 34,000 won ($26).

Baek drew controversy in September after it emerged that he had filed a wave of criminal complaints — on charges including insult — against users who had posted critical comments online, including on stock discussion boards frequented by The Born Korea investors. The company said the legal action targeted posts it deemed excessively defamatory, but some of those named in the complaints pushed back, saying they had done nothing more than offer legitimate criticism of the company's poor business performance, without using abusive or insulting language.