Netmarble, the Only One Among 3N to Profit... Operating Profit Grows 165% (Comprehensive)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] Netmarble achieved strong performance in the first quarter of this year, driven by the success of its mobile game "Seven Knights 2" and the expansion of global sales.

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% year-on-year. Operating profit also fell 34.3% quarter-on-quarter but grew 165.7% year-on-year. Net profit for the period was 61.9 billion KRW, up 7.7% compared to the same period last year.

Netmarble CFO Do Gi-wook explained during the earnings conference call that the decline in sales and operating profit compared to the previous quarter was due to "the absence of new titles and increased labor costs such as salary raises." He added, "Although there will be some limitations such as initial marketing costs for The Second Country in the second quarter, we expect significant performance improvements from the second half."

The outlook for future performance is also positive. 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.

Additionally, the mobile collectible MMORPG "Seven Knights 2," released in November last year, continues to maintain a high ranking in sales on both Google Play Store and Apple App Store, showing a good trend.

In particular, Netmarble plans to target the global game market this year with five 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, which was a collaboration between Level-5 and Studio Ghibli, attracting significant attention in the gaming industry. It is scheduled for simultaneous release on June 10 in five regions: Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau.

Netmarble CEO Kwon Young-sik said during the conference call, "'The Second Country' pre-registration trends are coming out positively as expected," and added, "The release is scheduled for June 10, and the launch schedule is proceeding without any issues."

To strengthen corporate social responsibility, Netmarble plans to establish an ESG committee directly under the board of directors in the second half of this year. CFO Do said, "Regarding ESG management, we have given much thought to corporate social responsibility and community contribution activities through the Netmarble Culture Foundation. We plan to set up an ESG committee under the board of directors in the second half of this year."

He continued, "In particular, the new (Guro) headquarters building was constructed as an eco-friendly building that can reduce greenhouse gases by optimizing energy management systems such as recycling landscaping trees, installing solar power, fuel cells, and renewable energy facilities."