Kakao 2024 Operating Profit 491.5 Billion KRW... 6.6% Increase YoY

If Not for the 'Timef Incident', Operating Profit Would Be 523 Billion KRW, Up 13.5%
Accelerating AI Services Through OpenAI Collaboration... Kanana to Be Released in the First Half of the Year

Kakao announced on the 13th that its consolidated operating profit for the full year 2024 increased by 6.6% to 491.5 billion KRW. Revenue rose by 4.2% year-on-year to 7.8738 trillion KRW.

Adjusting for the one-time bad debt write-off incurred by KakaoPay due to the 'Timef incident,' the annual operating profit amounts to 523 billion KRW, marking a 13.5% increase from the previous year, with the operating margin also rising to 6.6%.

On a separate basis, Kakao's annual revenue last year was 2.5951 trillion KRW, and operating profit was 496.5 billion KRW. Revenue increased by 3.8% year-on-year, while operating profit decreased by 6.9%.

In the fourth quarter of last year, consolidated revenue was 1.9591 trillion KRW, down 2.0% compared to the same period last year. Operating profit fell 33.7% to 106.7 billion KRW, with adjusted operating profit reflecting the one-time bad debt write-off at 138.2 billion KRW.

By business segment, platform segment revenue in the fourth quarter of last year increased by 10% year-on-year to 1.0491 trillion KRW.

Within the platform segment, 'TalkBiz' revenue rose 5% year-on-year to 562.7 billion KRW. Advertising revenues from TalkBiz, including 'BizBoard' and 'Business Message,' amounted to 321.2 billion KRW, a 5% increase from the previous year. Transactional (commerce) revenues from services such as 'Gift' and 'TalkDeal' reached 241.6 billion KRW, up 4% year-on-year. The integrated transaction volume for commerce in the fourth quarter of last year increased by 3% year-on-year to 2.7 trillion KRW.

Platform other revenues, including mobility and Pay, rose 22% year-on-year to 403.1 billion KRW, while portal business revenues such as Daum decreased by 6% to 83.2 billion KRW.

Content segment revenue for Q4 2024 was 910.1 billion KRW, down 13% year-on-year. Among these, music revenue decreased by 6% to 470.2 billion KRW. Story revenue was 203 billion KRW, down 5% year-on-year, and media revenue declined 25% to 73.9 billion KRW.

Kakao plans to introduce new AI services for customers this year. Collaborating with OpenAI, the AI integrated brand 'Kanana' is scheduled to be publicly released after a private beta test in the first half of the year. The AI Mate within KakaoTalk will also be officially launched in the first half.

Jung Shin-ah, CEO of Kakao, stated, “This year, Kakao will sequentially introduce new services,” adding, “We will actively pursue growth focused on the core of KakaoTalk and AI.”

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