Naver Reports 14% Increase in Q1 Revenue to 1.7321 Trillion KRW... Profitability Also Improved (Update)

Operating Profit in Q1 Also Increased by 7% to 221.5 Billion KRW
Thanks to Growth in Naver Pay and Webtoon Despite the COVID-19 Crisis

[Asia Economy Reporter Jin-gyu Lee] Naver, South Korea's largest portal, achieved external growth and improved profitability in the first quarter despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

On the 23rd, Naver announced that its first-quarter revenue reached 1.7321 trillion KRW, a 14.6% increase from 1.5109 trillion KRW in the previous year, and operating profit rose 7.4% to 221.5 billion KRW from 206.2 billion KRW in the same period last year.

First-quarter revenue was 1.7321 trillion KRW, up 14.6% year-on-year, driven by expanded sales in the Business Platform division and growth in Naver Pay and Webtoon. Operating profit increased 7.4% year-on-year to 221.5 billion KRW. Among this, operating profit from Naver's major business divisions was 307.4 billion KRW.

Operating income by business segment was ▲Business Platform 749.7 billion KRW ▲IT Platform 148.2 billion KRW ▲Advertising 144 billion KRW ▲Content Services 55.4 billion KRW ▲LINE and other platforms 634.8 billion KRW.

The Business Platform segment recorded 749.7 billion KRW, a 12% increase year-on-year, supported by solid growth in shopping-related sales including a 56% year-on-year increase in Smart Store transaction volume, despite an overall decrease in advertisers' budgets. Naver plans to strengthen its non-face-to-face live commerce sector and expand cooperation with various brands and logistics companies.

The IT Platform segment grew 49.4% year-on-year to 148.2 billion KRW, driven by growth in Naver Pay transaction volume and expanded support for cloud-based non-face-to-face technologies. Advertising revenue declined 16.2% from the previous quarter to 144 billion KRW due to the impact of COVID-19. Naver plans to beta launch the 'Smart Channel' product in May, which will be exposed in the mobile main area, offering high visibility and reinforcing a premium brand image.

Content Services recorded 55.4 billion KRW, a 58% increase year-on-year, fueled by the growth of Webtoon, which achieved 62 million global monthly active users (MAU). LINE and other platforms recorded 634.8 billion KRW, a 12.3% increase year-on-year.

Han Seong-sook, CEO of Naver, said, "We are providing multifaceted support using services, infrastructure, and technology to overcome the difficulties faced by users, small and medium-sized merchants, and creators due to the COVID-19 crisis. We will strive to create new opportunities and growth engines in the emerging non-face-to-face service market."

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