NHN Reports Operating Profit of 20.9 Billion KRW in Q2... Results of Profitability Improvement Efforts

NHN reported growth in sales and operating profit in the second quarter of this year, driven by growth in the payment and advertising sectors.

Visible Results from Profitability Improvement Efforts

NHN announced on the 10th that its second-quarter sales increased by 7.8% year-on-year to 551.4 billion KRW, and operating profit rose by 302.1% year-on-year to 20.9 billion KRW. Net profit for the period was 15.4 billion KRW.

Looking at sales by sector in the second quarter, the gaming sector recorded 107.2 billion KRW, up 3.0% year-on-year, supported by the continuous growth of web board games. Despite the seasonal off-season and marketing efficiency improvements, mobile web board game sales increased by 46.3%, leading to an overall 21.3% year-on-year increase in web board game sales, driving growth in the gaming business.

The payment and advertising sector achieved 258 billion KRW, up 19.1% year-on-year and 3.4% quarter-on-quarter, thanks to the continuous growth of NHN Payco’s point payments and B2B services, as well as an increase in payment volume from large domestic merchants through NHN KCP. Payco’s total transaction amount in the second quarter increased by 17% year-on-year, with point payments and corporate welfare solution transaction volumes rising by 13% and 63%, respectively, contributing to both scale expansion and profitability improvement despite marketing efficiency efforts.

The commerce sector recorded 51.9 billion KRW, down 36.5% year-on-year due to economic slowdown and ongoing uncertain external conditions, but up 2.5% quarter-on-quarter.

The technology sector continued its strong growth with a 35.6% year-on-year increase, driven by steady growth in CSP (Cloud Service Provider) and MSP (Managed Service Provider) businesses. However, due to a base effect from public sector sales concentrated in the first quarter, sales decreased by 6.5% quarter-on-quarter to 93.6 billion KRW. Japan’s NHN Techorus grew by 39.5% year-on-year and 6.0% quarter-on-quarter, supported by continuous acquisition of new large customers.

The content sector achieved sales of 50.5 billion KRW, up 1.0% year-on-year and 20.7% quarter-on-quarter, driven by NHN Link’s growth, which recorded its highest quarterly sales ever due to strong sports ticket sales.

Efforts to Secure Stable Profitability Across Business Sectors

NHN plans to further strengthen its web board game competitiveness by launching ‘LA Seotda’ in the third quarter. Additionally, the mid-core genre new title ‘Darkest Days’ will open pre-registrations in the third quarter and is being prepared for a global release within the year. Other major new titles such as ‘Uparu Odyssey,’ which recently started pre-registrations, and ‘Rogue Egg,’ whose official name was recently finalized, are scheduled to be released sequentially in the second half of the year.

NHN Payco’s continuous efforts to improve profitability are showing visible results, and it will continue to expand its core businesses such as points, coupons, and B2B services. Despite the sluggish advertising market, Payco coupons’ sales increased by 16% year-on-year in the second quarter. In the second half of the year, the service will be further enhanced by expanding personalized benefits for users and enabling sharing of purchase experiences among users.

NHN Commerce has changed the name of its Chinese subsidiary NHN Acommate to NHN Commerce China and has taken concrete steps to expand its global e-commerce business. In July, it acquired the leading Italian commerce company ‘Iconic,’ securing a new foothold in Europe and planning to actively expand its distribution business globally.

NHN Cloud, a domestic leader in public cloud transition, is participating as a core CSP in the government-led ‘K-Cloud Project,’ which aims to foster AI semiconductor development. It is making thorough preparations for the scheduled opening of the ‘Gwangju National AI Data Center’ in October. In the MSP business, Japan’s NHN Techorus recently obtained the highest ‘Premier Partner’ certification from Google Cloud, further strengthening its position as a leading MSP company in Japan.

On August 1, NHN celebrated its 10th anniversary and announced a new brand slogan, ‘Weaving New Play,’ which embodies the meaning of ‘a new tomorrow created by our connections,’ expressing its commitment to sustainable growth. Going forward, NHN plans to actively expand its business stage to the global market and focus on establishing a solid foundation for long-term growth.

Jung Woo-jin, CEO of NHN, stated, “In the second quarter, NHN accelerated efforts to strengthen competitiveness and improve profitability across each business despite limited conditions, and these efforts have begun to show quantitative results. Especially, marking the 10th anniversary this year, we will prioritize securing stable profitability in each business sector and focus on strengthening our fundamentals.”

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