[Concall] Naver Expands New Businesses Including Shopping and Finance... Launches Brand Store and Bank Account (Comprehensive)

Targeting Over 200 Brands by Year-End... Naver Bank Account Launch in First Half
Line-Yahoo Japan Management Integration Expected to Foster AI Collaboration with SoftBank

Hansung-sook, CEO of Naver

[Asia Economy Reporter Jin-gyu Lee] Naver is set to expand its new business sectors such as shopping and finance this year, embarking on full-scale profit generation. Additionally, through the management merger of its Japanese subsidiaries Line and Yahoo Japan, collaboration with SoftBank in various fields including artificial intelligence (AI) is also anticipated.

Han Seong-sook, CEO of Naver, stated during the conference call held after the announcement of the 2019 fourth-quarter earnings on the 30th, "This year, we will strengthen platform competitiveness centered on search and commerce," adding, "We will make visible achievements in new growth-driving business areas such as content, tech-finance, and business-to-business (B2B)." She also emphasized, "We will strive to rapidly expand our business into new markets such as the United States, Japan, and Europe, and to leap forward as a global company."

Naver plans to first strengthen its shopping sector by enhancing partnerships with major brands. CEO Han said, "We will expand the commerce ecosystem by strengthening partnerships between major brands and distributors. The home appliance category, with 10 confirmed brand entries, is scheduled to open in February, and we aim to expand to daily necessities and furniture, targeting over 200 brand stores within this year."

The 'Naver Account' by Naver Financial, established last November, is also expected to launch in the first half of the year. CEO Han stated, "Starting with the Naver Account, users will naturally experience various financial services such as credit card recommendations, securities, and insurance," adding, "We will evolve into a comprehensive asset management platform based on high-quality data." She further noted, "Once identity verification is possible through the Naver ID-based certificate, rapid penetration into securities and insurance services will be feasible."

Collaboration between Naver and SoftBank through the management integration of Line and Yahoo Japan is also expected to proceed in earnest. Naver has decided on an absorption-type split to transfer all Line business divisions to a newly established company. This is to facilitate the management integration between Line and Yahoo Japan's operating company Z Holdings, finalized in December last year. Currently, SoftBank is the parent company of Z Holdings. CEO Han said, "Through the management integration of Line and Z Holdings, synergy among the four companies?Line, Z Holdings, Naver, and SoftBank?is expected," and forecasted, "Close cooperation will be possible in various fields such as AI, search, and tech-finance." Naver's Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Park Sang-jin explained, "Due to the management integration with Z Holdings, Line will be recorded as an asset for sale, and Line's performance will be excluded from Naver's consolidated financial statements several months before the integration."

Naver also anticipates further growth in its content service sector led by webtoons this year. Naver Webtoon gained popularity in global markets such as North America, achieving 60 million monthly active users (MAU) globally in the fourth quarter of last year. CEO Han said, "Based on localization experiences in the United States, Taiwan, and Thailand, we will establish country-specific localization strategies for Spain, France, and other countries to continue the growth of webtoons."

Meanwhile, Naver announced that its revenue last year reached a record high of 6.5934 trillion won, an 18% increase compared to the previous year. Operating profit last year was 710.1 billion won, down 24.7% from the previous year. Net income was 396.8 billion won. Fourth-quarter revenue last year rose 17.9% year-on-year to 1.7874 trillion won, while operating profit decreased 18.7% to 173.4 billion won.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.