NHN Reports 102.5 Billion KRW Operating Profit Last Year, Up 18.2% YoY... Payment and Commerce Turned Profitable (Update)

- Sales of 1.6814 trillion KRW, Operating Profit of 102.5 billion KRW
- Balanced Growth Across Each Business Sector

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] NHN announced on the 8th that its consolidated operating profit for last year was tentatively estimated at 102.5 billion KRW, an 18.2% increase compared to the previous year.

Revenue recorded 1.6814 trillion KRW, up 13.0% from the previous year, and net profit rose 54.4% to 35.8 billion KRW.

Last year's Q4 revenue was 462.3 billion KRW, up 15.6% year-on-year and 10.2% quarter-on-quarter, and operating profit was 20.3 billion KRW, up 16.1% year-on-year.

Q4 revenue by business segment was ▲Games 98.5 billion KRW ▲Payment and Advertising 191 billion KRW ▲Commerce 80.8 billion KRW ▲Technology 52.0 billion KRW ▲Content 44.6 billion KRW.

The Games segment saw web board game revenue grow 23% year-on-year due to the mobile linkage effect of PC Poker and the peak season effect, but recorded 98.5 billion KRW, down 1.5% year-on-year and 1.9% quarter-on-quarter due to a natural decline in some mobile games. The company plans to stably operate verified major mobile games going forward, while terminating services for some mobile games and improving profitability through a selection and concentration strategy.

The Payment and Advertising segment achieved revenue of 191 billion KRW, up 36.2% year-on-year and 13.1% quarter-on-quarter, as sales from Payco, NHN Korea Cyber Payment, and the advertising corporation increased evenly. In particular, annual revenue grew 29% year-on-year thanks to the boom in the PG business and expansion of overseas merchants, and annual operating profit turned positive.

The Commerce segment recorded 80.8 billion KRW, up 14.2% year-on-year and 9.4% quarter-on-quarter, driven by the growth of NHN Global in the U.S. and the Guanggunje effect of Acom Mate, reflecting the performance of global commerce business centered on the U.S. and China. Annual revenue increased 28% year-on-year, and annual operating profit also turned positive.

The Technology segment recorded revenue of 52.0 billion KRW, up 20.9% year-on-year and 32.7% quarter-on-quarter, supported by the full-scale cloud business including new public sector orders and business performance of major corporations such as PNP Secure and Japan's Tekorus. The Technology segment's annual revenue in 2020 increased 28.6% year-on-year, and Q4 operating profit turned positive.

The Content segment recorded 44.6 billion KRW, up 4.9% quarter-on-quarter, due to increased music distribution revenue from NHN Bugs and expanded user base of Pocket Comics.

Jung Woojin, CEO of NHN, said, "2020 was a period to verify the potential as a comprehensive IT company and to accelerate its progress through growth not only in games and simple payment businesses but also in commerce and technology businesses." He added, "This year, we plan to focus on balanced growth and strengthening the position of each business segment and enhancing NHN's corporate value."

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