Kakao Also Hits Annual Sales of '6 Trillion'... Closing in on Naver (Update)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] Kakao has recorded annual sales of 6 trillion won, closely chasing Naver, which posted sales of 6.8176 trillion won last year.

Kakao announced on the 11th that its consolidated sales last year increased by 48% year-on-year to 6.1361 trillion won. Operating profit recorded 596.9 billion won, up 31% from the previous year.

Consolidated sales in the fourth quarter of last year were 1.0752 trillion won, up 45% year-on-year, while operating profit recorded 108.5 billion won, down 27%.

Platform segment sales in the fourth quarter were 1.0048 trillion won, up 48% year-on-year. Talk Biz sales increased by 30% year-on-year to 475 billion won, and Portal Biz sales rose 7% year-on-year to 130.7 billion won due to an expansion in display advertising revenue.

Other platform sales increased 107% year-on-year to 399.1 billion won, driven by growth in Kakao Mobility and Kakao Pay payment businesses and increased cloud sales from Kakao Enterprise.

Content segment sales rose 41% year-on-year to 780.3 billion won.

Story sales grew 29% year-on-year to 211.3 billion won. Music sales achieved 202.7 billion won, up 9% year-on-year, and media sales increased 8% quarter-on-quarter and 39% year-on-year to 89.5 billion won.

Game sales were 276.8 billion won, down 40% quarter-on-quarter due to the base effect of the mobile game ‘Odin’ launch, but up 97% year-on-year.

Operating expenses in the fourth quarter rose 7% quarter-on-quarter and 54% year-on-year to 1.6766 trillion won. Increases in one-time costs such as bonuses, labor costs, and investments contributed to the rise in operating expenses.

Annual operating expenses for 2021 increased 50% year-on-year to 5.5392 trillion won.

Meanwhile, Kakao will implement a continuous mid- to long-term shareholder return policy for the first time to enhance shareholder value. Accordingly, over the next three years, 15% to 30% of Kakao’s separate basis free cash flow will be used as resources, with 5% allocated to cash dividends and 10% to 25% used for share buybacks and cancellations. Additionally, the company plans to maintain a minimum basic dividend per share over the next three years while providing additional dividends in line with company growth.

In particular, this year, following approval at the shareholders' meeting, Kakao will carry out a total of 300 billion won worth of share cancellations, combining share cancellations under the shareholder return policy and special share cancellations.

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