SM Q3 Operating Profit 50.5 Billion KRW, Record Quarterly High

Quarterly Record-Breaking Album Sales Drive
Increase in Offline Concert Revenue

SM Entertainment (SM) announced on the 8th that its consolidated Q3 results showed sales of 266.3 billion KRW and an operating profit of 50.5 billion KRW. Compared to the same period last year, sales increased by 12% and operating profit rose by 70%. This is the highest quarterly operating profit ever recorded.

SM, which achieved the highest quarterly performance in history in the third quarter, is expected to continue its strong performance with a relay comeback in the fourth quarter. From the top left clockwise: Dongbangsin-gi, Red Velvet, Aespa, RISE, NCT Dream, NCT 127
[Photo by SM]

The record-high quarterly album sales drove the strong performance. The number of new albums sold in Q3 was 8.71 million copies. NCT Dream sold 4.32 million, EXO 1.9 million, NCT 1.05 million, and RISE 1.03 million copies. Revenue from albums and digital music amounted to 113.4 billion KRW, a 57.5% increase compared to Q3 last year (72 billion KRW).

Concert revenue also increased due to the resumption of offline concerts. Q3 concert revenue was 24.5 billion KRW, compared to 10.9 billion KRW in the same period last year, more than doubling. The Q3 results reflected 18 shows from aespa’s world tour and 5 shows from NCT’s Korea-Japan stadium tour.

However, subsidiary performance was not favorable. The combined sales of major subsidiaries totaled 122.3 billion KRW, a 10.5% decrease from 136.7 billion KRW in the same period last year. Sales declined due to conservative marketing spending by key clients of SM C&C, and production costs were not further reflected in sales following the completion of pre-production for KeyEast dramas.

SM is expected to continue its strong performance in Q4 with relay comebacks from major artists. Last month, NCT 127 made a comeback with their fifth full-length album ‘Fact Check,’ and Super Junior’s Yesung released his fifth mini-album ‘Unfading Sense.’ In the same month, SHINee’s Taemin showcased a new side as a solo artist with his mini-album ‘Guilty.’ On the 10th of this month, aespa will release their new mini-album ‘Drama’ and begin new activities. Red Velvet will also release a new album after about a year. Taeyeon is working on an album aiming for release next month, about 1 year and 9 months since her last. In December, TVXQ will release their ninth full-length album on December 26, marking their 20th debut anniversary.

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