Kakao Surpasses 3 Trillion Won in Sales Last Year... Record High Performance (Update)

Achieving External Growth and Profitability Improvement with Sales and Operating Profit Growth
Plan to Steadily Increase TokBiz Sales Growth This Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Jin-gyu Lee] Kakao surpassed 3 trillion won in sales last year, achieving its highest-ever performance. Thanks to the outstanding performance of the national messenger KakaoTalk (KakaoTalk) chat window advertising service 'Bizboard (Talkboard)', it succeeded in capturing both external growth and profitability improvement.

On the 13th, Kakao announced that its sales last year reached 3.0898 trillion won, a 28% increase compared to the previous year. Last year's operating profit was 206.6 billion won, up 183% from the previous year.

Sales in the fourth quarter increased by 29% year-on-year to 867.3 billion won, and operating profit grew 1750% to 79.4 billion won. A Kakao official explained, "The establishment of a business structure centered on KakaoTalk and the expansion of revenue models in new businesses led to the highest-ever sales and profits."

Platform segment sales in the fourth quarter recorded 444 billion won, a 47% increase compared to the same period last year. TalkBiz sales increased by 73% year-on-year to 221.6 billion won due to the successful establishment of Talkboard and the highest-ever transaction volume in commerce. PortalBiz sales grew 3% year-on-year to 134.2 billion won, influenced by the seasonal advertising peak. New business sales increased by 95% year-on-year to 88.2 billion won. The year-end peak season effect of KakaoT Daeri and the expansion of the taxi business using KakaoT Blue began in earnest from the fourth quarter, and with the growth of payment transaction volume and the launch of financial products by Pay, new business performance greatly improved.

Content segment sales grew 14% year-on-year to 423.3 billion won. The game content segment recorded 105.9 billion won, a 6% increase year-on-year, driven by the overall game sales growth led by the release of 'Dalbitjogaksa' in October last year. The music content segment continued stable growth, achieving 153.3 billion won, up 9% year-on-year. Paid content sales were 47.8 billion won, down 25% year-on-year.

This year, Kakao plans to provide a complete business experience connecting Talkboard, KakaoTalk Channel, Biz Message, and Pay, solidifying the growth trend of TalkBiz sales. Mobile innovation in the techfin sector based on KakaoPay and KakaoBank will also accelerate. Based on KakaoPay Securities, Kakao will lead diversification of investment product portfolios and popularization of investment and asset management. KakaoBank also plans to leap forward as the most preferred financial app for domestic users through the 'Kabang First' strategy, prioritizing customers in every product and service.

Along with this, Kakao will accelerate the global expansion of paid content. Piccoma showed a steep growth trend, with annual transaction volume increasing 130% year-on-year last year, and plans to further solidify its position as a manga platform in the Japanese market. KakaoPage started business expansion in Indonesia last year and is preparing to expand to Taiwan, Thailand, and China this year, aiming to make this year the 'first year of global dissemination of K-content' and continue market expansion.