Netmarble Q1 Operating Profit 54.2 Billion KRW... Up 165.7% YoY (Update)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] Netmarble announced on the 14th that it recorded consolidated sales of 570.4 billion KRW and operating profit of 54.2 billion KRW in the first quarter of this year.

First-quarter sales decreased by 8.6% compared to the previous quarter but increased by 7.0% compared to the same period last year. Operating profit also fell by 34.3% from the previous quarter but grew by 165.7% year-on-year. Net profit was 61.9 billion KRW, up 7.7% from the same period last year.

Overseas sales amounted to 402.3 billion KRW, accounting for about 71% of total sales, showing a steady expansion and maintenance of the global share.

Netmarble’s mobile collectible MMORPG ‘Seven Knights 2,’ released in November last year, continues to maintain a strong position in the top sales rankings on both Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

In particular, Netmarble plans to target the global game market this year with five highly anticipated titles including ‘The Second Country,’ ‘Marvel Future Revolution,’ ‘Seven Knights Revolution,’ as well as ‘BTS Dream (working title)’ and ‘Merge Kuya Island.’

The first to be released among these is ‘The Second Country: Cross Worlds,’ a mobile RPG reinterpretation of the RPG ‘Ni no Kuni’ IP (intellectual property), which was a collaboration between Level-5 and Studio Ghibli, attracting significant attention within the gaming industry. It is scheduled for simultaneous release next month in five regions: Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau.

Kwon Young-sik, CEO of Netmarble, stated, "In the first quarter, performance was somewhat stagnant due to the absence of new releases, increased workforce, and higher labor costs from salary raises. Starting from the second quarter, we will strengthen our global gaming competitiveness by launching major new titles such as ‘The Second Country,’ ‘Marvel Future Revolution,’ and ‘Seven Knights Revolution.’"