Kakao Q1 Operating Profit 88.2 Billion KRW... Record High Performance (Update)

[Asia Economy Reporter Buaeri] Kakao announced on the 7th that it recorded its highest-ever quarterly revenue and operating profit in Q1, with revenue of 868.4 billion KRW and operating profit of 88.2 billion KRW. Revenue increased by 23% and operating profit by 219% compared to the same period last year.

The strong performance was driven by new businesses such as TalkBiz including commerce and Kakao Pay, as well as the content sector. TalkBiz, KakaoTalk’s business, recorded revenue of 224.7 billion KRW, up 77% year-on-year, due to an expansion of new advertisers and steady growth in commerce (trade). Transaction volume for Kakao Commerce, including Gift, Talk Store, and Makers, increased by 55% compared to the same period last year.

However, portal division revenue declined by 8% year-on-year to 116.6 billion KRW due to seasonal off-season and reduced advertising demand from major brand advertisers caused by COVID-19.

New business division revenue was 100.5 billion KRW, up 14% quarter-on-quarter and 68% year-on-year. Growth continued with the expansion of the franchise business of the premium taxi service 'KakaoT Blue' and increased transaction volume of Kakao Pay.

The content division posted revenue of 426.6 billion KRW, up 6% quarter-on-quarter and 8% year-on-year. Paid content revenue grew 97% quarter-on-quarter and 30% year-on-year to 97 billion KRW, and global platform transaction volume increased by 51% year-on-year. The transaction volume of Piccoma, a Japanese webtoon service, more than doubled compared to the same period last year, leading the overall content revenue growth.

Game content division revenue grew 3% year-on-year to 96.8 billion KRW, and music content division revenue increased 10% year-on-year to 150.7 billion KRW. Other intellectual property (IP) business revenue declined 6% year-on-year to 81.9 billion KRW due to the impact of COVID-19.

Q1 operating expenses increased 2% quarter-on-quarter and 15% year-on-year to 780.2 billion KRW.

Kakao plans to continue strengthening its core KakaoTalk advertising and shopping sectors and accelerate expansion in the financial sector including Kakao Pay and Kakao Bank. It will also enter markets with high demand for K-content such as Taiwan, Thailand, and China this year, and accelerate original content production businesses in music, video, and digital. In the second half of the year, Kakao plans to officially enter the B2B market by launching 'Kakao Work,' a comprehensive enterprise work platform.

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