Habit Factory Swings to Q1 Profit, Sales Soar 86.8%

Fintech innovation company Habit Factory successfully achieved a dramatic turnaround to profitability in the first quarter of this year, driven by the simultaneous growth of its Korean and international businesses. A sharp increase in sales, coupled with the acquisition of new customers and an increase in contracts, drove this success, with the application of artificial intelligence (AI) technology and strategic brand campaigns acting as key growth drivers. Its domestic business recorded an operating profit of 716.54 million won, demonstrating solid profitability. Consolidated sales amounted to 9.42637 billion won, showing an explosive increase of 86.8% compared to the same period last year. New member registrations increased by 43.3% and the number of insurance contracts grew by 82.3% respectively, significantly expanding its customer base. Notably, in March, it recorded an all-time high of 320 million won in initial insurance premiums, growing 64% compared to the same month last year and solidifying its position in the domestic market. Its international business also showed remarkable performance. The U.S. subsidiary executed loans totaling 17.1 billion won in the first quarter, and Loaning.ai, a specialized mortgage bank, saw its sales surge by a remarkable 246.5%, showcasing its growth potential in the global market. Habit Factory's success is the result of multifaceted efforts. Firstly, it strengthened its customer service capabilities through aggressive expansion of its financial advisor organization. Furthermore, it maximized work efficiency by introducing innovative AI technology. 'Signal AI Helper,' which provides necessary materials in real-time during consultations, 'Summary Agent,' which summarizes past customer conversations to provide customized information, and the AI 'Haebot,' which simulates various customer types for training new financial advisors, were developed, dramatically reducing training time and costs. On the marketing front, collaborations with influencers preferred by the main consumer group, millennials and Gen Z (those in their 20s and 30s), increased interest in insurance among the younger generation. The recently launched 'Family Insurance Check-up' feature, which allows users to manage family members' insurance policies at once, received a great response from users, and the number of consultations conducted through it increased by 9.2 percentage points compared to the previous month. Moving forward, Habit Factory plans to increase loyal customers by enhancing its pension and household ledger services using AI technology. Furthermore, it plans to accelerate business diversification by expanding into business-to-business (B2B) areas such as Application Programming Interface (API) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions. Co-CEO Jung Yoon-ho stated that this turnaround to profitability is a "stepping stone for new challenges," expressing his ambition to actively expand market share based on profitability and technological prowess.