I Put Everything on WEMIX... Jang Hyun-guk Says "Wemade's Next Year Will Be Uncomparable to the Past Year"

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Wemade's operating profit for the first quarter of this year plummeted by 76%. Despite results close to an earnings shock, CEO Jang Hyun-guk expressed confidence, saying, "The next year will not be comparable to the past year." Wemade is focusing all efforts on expanding its blockchain platform 'Wemix' and expects steep growth starting from the second quarter.

Operating Profit Drops 76% Due to Increased Labor Costs

Wemade announced on the 11th that it recorded sales of 131 billion KRW and operating profit of 6.5 billion KRW in the first quarter. Sales rose 72% year-on-year, but operating profit fell 76%. Net income for the period decreased by 98% to about 400 million KRW.

Wemade's sales increased due to the stabilization of domestic and overseas sales of 'Mir4' and the consolidation of Wemade Play (formerly SundayToz). By region, domestic sales increased by 8% year-on-year due to the new inclusion of casual game lineups from the consolidated subsidiary Wemade Play. Overseas sales decreased compared to the previous quarter due to a base effect from changes in accounting recognition standards for license sales but increased 271% year-on-year.

On the other hand, operating profit sharply declined by 76% year-on-year due to increased labor costs from workforce expansion and increased advertising expenses from the consolidation of Wemade Play. In particular, labor costs increased by 178% compared to the same period last year, accounting for a significant portion of operating expenses.

The total transaction amount of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) within the Wemix platform in the first quarter was about 5.2 million Wemix, growing 730% compared to the previous quarter. During the same period, the Wemix decentralized exchange (DEX) recorded transaction amounts of about 40 million Wemix. Wemade expects the number of games onboarding the platform to increase significantly from the second quarter onward, leading to higher transaction volumes.

Full Effort to Expand Wemix Platform... Founder Park Kwan-ho Purchases Tokens Worth 30 Billion KRW

The expansion of Wemix involves all employees, including Park Kwan-ho, Wemade’s founder and chairman.

Recently, Wemade announced Park Kwan-ho’s plan to purchase Wemix tokens and additional stock options for executives and employees. Chairman Park plans to purchase Wemix tokens worth approximately 30 billion KRW over the next six months. Earlier, CEO Jang Hyun-guk revealed plans to buy Wemix tokens using stock dividends and salary, and last month alone, he purchased about 26,000 Wemix tokens.

On the 10th, Wemade disclosed that it granted a total of 218,370 stock options (exercise price 100,900 KRW) to 48 employees, including Vice President Jeon Dong-hae. This move is interpreted as a signal to the market of confidence in each business ahead of the Mir M launch and the Wemix 3.0 showcase.

'Wemix 3.0' will be unveiled at a global showcase at 9 a.m. on the 15th of next month. The global showcase will provide detailed information about the mainnet Wemix 3.0, which Wemade has been meticulously preparing, and will introduce Wemix as the native coin of the mainnet, along with Wemix Dollar, a stable coin designed for use across various ecosystems.

Wemade plans to service about ten games on the Wemix platform in the second quarter, including the release of the new blockchain game 'Yeolhyeol Gangho.' In particular, Mir M is expected to launch domestically in the second quarter and then be released globally as a blockchain version. Internal expectations for Mir M are higher than for Mir4.

Wemix was additionally listed on six exchanges in the first quarter, including the domestic exchange Upbit, and is currently traded on more than 20 exchanges. Wemade is preparing to list on all exchanges ranked within the top 50 and plans to continue listing throughout this year.

CEO Jang Hyun-guk emphasized, "A year ago, Wemade announced itself as a metaverse and virtual asset company, but no one believed or paid attention. However, we have achieved this much, and the next year will be incomparable to the past year."

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