Kakao Q1 Revenue 1.6517 Trillion KRW... Up 31% YoY (Update)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] Kakao announced on the 4th that it recorded consolidated sales of 1.6517 trillion KRW and an operating profit of 158.7 billion KRW in the first quarter of this year. These figures represent increases of 31% and 1%, respectively, compared to the same period last year.

Platform segment sales were 886 billion KRW, up 27% year-on-year. Among these, TalkBiz sales grew steadily, recording 461 billion KRW, a 23% increase compared to the same period last year.

Advertising-type sales such as Bizboard and KakaoTalk Channel increased by 32% year-on-year, while transaction-type sales including Gift and Talk Store remained at levels similar to the previous quarter.

Portal Biz sales decreased by 3% year-on-year to 114 billion KRW. Other platform segment sales recorded 311 billion KRW, a 52% increase year-on-year, driven by stable revenue growth from Kakao Mobility and Kakao Pay.

Kakao's content segment sales rose 36% year-on-year to 765.7 billion KRW. In particular, Story sales grew 38% year-on-year to 240.5 billion KRW. This was driven by increased platform transaction volume led by the KakaoPage original drama 'Sanaematsun' in Korea and North America, as well as record-breaking quarterly sales from the expansion of new lineups on Japan's Piccoma.

Music sales increased 11% year-on-year to 204.4 billion KRW, and media sales rose 3% to 75 billion KRW. Game sales reached 245.8 billion KRW, an 89% increase compared to the same period last year. The effect of the mobile game ‘Odin’ launching in Taiwan is expected to be reflected in second-quarter sales this year.

Operating expenses for the first quarter of 2022 were 1.493 trillion KRW. This is an 11% decrease compared to the previous quarter but a 36% increase year-on-year.

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