Last Year, Publishing Industry Expanded but Real Profits Declined... Sales Up, Operating Profit Down

Operating Profit of 77 Publishing Companies Down 38.7%... "Rising Costs Are the Main Cause"

Last year, the publishing industry grew in size but saw limited profits. Sales of the four major domestic bookstores and 77 key publishers slightly increased, but operating profits significantly declined.

According to the "2022 Publishing Market Statistics" released on the 27th by the Korea Publishers Association, which analyzed the last year's audit reports of the four major bookstores?Yes24, Aladin, Youngpoong Bookstore, and Kyobo Bookstore?disclosed on the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system, these companies' sales last year amounted to 2.0721 trillion KRW, a 2.3% (46.8 billion KRW) increase from the previous year (2.0253 trillion KRW). However, operating profit decreased by 33.3% (9.9 billion KRW), from 29.8 billion KRW in 2021 to 19.9 billion KRW last year.

On the 17th, when government-level discussions on lifting the indoor mask-wearing mandate begin, a large bookstore in Seoul displays a notice about the mask-wearing requirement. The National Infectious Disease Crisis Response Advisory Committee will hold a video conference that afternoon to discuss the timing of adjustments to the indoor mask mandate. Based on the committee's discussions, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters is likely to hold a meeting on the 18th or 20th to decide the timing for lifting the indoor mask mandate. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

The biggest loss was recorded by Kyobo Bookstore, which posted an operating loss of 13.8 billion KRW, turning to a deficit. Aladin's operating profit fell by 8.8% (1.5 billion KRW). However, Youngpoong Bookstore succeeded in returning to profitability, and Yes24 recorded an operating profit of 16.6 billion KRW, a 26.0% (3.4 billion KRW) increase compared to the previous year.

The situation was similar for the 77 major publishers. Their sales last year reached 5.1081 trillion KRW, a 2.8% (139.6 billion KRW) increase from the previous year. On the other hand, operating profit was 208.1 billion KRW, a 38.7% (131.2 billion KRW) decrease from the previous year's 339.3 billion KRW.

The Korea Publishers Association pointed to rising costs of paper and printing, as well as increased labor and marketing expenses as the causes.

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