"CJ ENM Reports Q3 Operating Profit of 25.5 Billion KRW, Down 70.9% YoY Due to Media and Commerce Segment Profitability Decline (Comprehensive)"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] CJ ENM announced on the 8th that its consolidated operating profit for the third quarter of this year was 25.5 billion KRW, a decrease of 70.9% compared to the same period last year. During the same period, sales increased by 37.4% to 1.1785 trillion KRW, but net loss recorded 55.6 billion KRW, turning to a deficit. Although the music business division recorded the highest operating profit margin ever, operating profit decreased due to sluggish performance in the media and commerce divisions.

In the media division, operating loss turned to 14.1 billion KRW, and sales rose 37.7% to 609.9 billion KRW compared to the same period last year. The influence expanded as TVING sales increased by 81.6% during the same period with content such as "Little Women," "Street Man Fighter," and "Transit Love 2," but operating loss occurred due to increased production costs from the expansion of original content.

During this period, the commerce division's operating profit was 5.7 billion KRW, down 78.8% from the same period last year, and sales decreased by 2.0% to 309.5 billion KRW compared to the same period last year. Despite a 12.5% increase in sales of own brands, the decrease in TV sales and the burden of transmission fees contributed to the decline in profit.

In the second half of the year, the company plans to recover sales by increasing the composition of high-margin products such as beauty and health functional foods. CJ ENM stated, "We will focus on the effect of the peak season by continuously strengthening fashion own brands such as The Edge and G Studio and continuously launching new products."

The film division turned to an operating loss of 100 million KRW, and sales increased by 258.2% to 118.6 billion KRW compared to the same period last year.

The music division's operating profit increased by 211.8% to 34 billion KRW during the same period, and sales also increased by 113.5% to 140.5 billion KRW. The expansion of live sales by Lim Young-woong and (G)I-DLE drove profitability.

A CJ ENM official said, "In the fourth quarter, we plan to focus on expanding the global business of the music division centered on our own artists and recovering TV advertising," adding, "We will lead the growth of the music division through the expansion of domestic and overseas concerts, and respond intensively to the peak season in commerce."

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