Korea Center Q2 Operating Profit Up 54%... "Achieves Record High Performance"

Total Transaction Amount of 3.3 Trillion KRW, Operating Revenue of 126.6 Billion KRW

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Korea Center announced on the 16th that it recorded a total transaction amount (GMV) of 3.3 trillion KRW, operating revenue of 126.6 billion KRW, and EBITDA of 17.9 billion KRW for the second quarter of this year on a consolidated basis. GMV increased by 26%, operating revenue by 54%, and EBITDA by 98% compared to the same period last year, marking the highest quarterly performance ever.

Korea Center's performance surged significantly from the second quarter as the results of Danawa, acquired at the end of March, were reflected. Overall profitability also improved greatly, with the EBITDA margin rising from 11% to 14.1%. Operating profit reached 11.5 billion KRW, growing 104% year-on-year despite PPA amortization expenses from the Danawa acquisition, and the operating profit margin increased from 6.9% to 9.1%.

The data commerce division's GMV grew 200% compared to the same period last year. Operating revenue increased by 530%, from 8.1 billion KRW last year to 51 billion KRW this period. The inclusion of Danawa in the consolidation contributed an increase of 40.3 billion KRW, while the existing business excluding Danawa also saw operating revenue rise by 2.6 billion KRW due to increased domestic and international data sales through the big data analytics platform BuiltOn.

The e-commerce solution division showed steady growth in GMV and customer numbers, driven by PlayAuto (multi-market integration solution) and MySoho (mobile shopping platform). GMV grew 8%, from 2.3 trillion KRW in the same period last year to 2.49 trillion KRW this period. The PlayAuto business unit, a multi-market integration solution, led the GMV growth with an increase of 0.19 trillion KRW. The number of customers increased by 19% year-on-year, with MySoho leading the growth in customer numbers. Operating revenue remained similar, recording 24.1 billion KRW this period compared to 24 billion KRW in the same period last year.

Cross-border commerce performance saw a slight decrease in shipment volume due to external environmental factors, but GMV and operating revenue remained similar to the previous year. GMV was about 61.3 billion KRW this period, close to 61.4 billion KRW in the same period last year. Although overseas direct purchase demand slowed due to external factors such as economic slowdown, inflation, exchange rate increases, and rising logistics costs, the GMV of Dahaejum, a one-stop purchasing agency service, grew 44% year-on-year. Operating revenue increased by 2%, from 47.7 billion KRW last year to 48.7 billion KRW this period.

Kim Ki-rok, CEO of Korea Center, said, "Although there were difficulties due to the worsening overseas market environment, we showed balanced growth centered on the data commerce business. With the pause over for MakeShop and Malltail, we will do our best to put strategically prepared businesses on track to generate greater profits."