Kakao Reports Operating Profit of 140.3 Billion KRW in Q3... Fifth Consecutive Quarter of Performance Slowdown (Update)

Kakao recorded a slowdown in performance for the fifth consecutive quarter.

On the 9th, Kakao announced that its sales for the third quarter of this year reached 2.1609 trillion KRW, and operating profit was 140.3 billion KRW. Sales increased by 16% compared to the same period last year, but operating profit decreased by 7%. The operating profit margin was 6.5%.

Platform division sales in the third quarter increased by 4% year-on-year to 1.0295 trillion KRW. Talk Biz sales rose 11% to 517.7 billion KRW. Among Talk Biz sales, advertising revenue such as Biz Board and KakaoTalk Channel grew by 8%, while transaction-type sales such as Gift and Talk Store increased by 15%. Portal Biz sales decreased by 24% to 83.2 billion KRW. Other platform sales recorded 428.5 billion KRW, up 5%, driven by increased KakaoPay Global transaction volume and stable growth across all Kakao Mobility business sectors.

Content division sales increased by 30% year-on-year to 1.1315 trillion KRW. Story sales reached 249.1 billion KRW, rising 8% thanks to record-breaking quarterly transaction volume in Japan and increased views of domestic original webtoon intellectual property (IP) such as Moving. Music sales surged 105% to 513.3 billion KRW, and media sales grew 14% to 107 billion KRW. Game sales declined 12% to 262 billion KRW.

Operating expenses in the third quarter increased by 18% year-on-year to 2.0206 trillion KRW.

Kakao plans to continue its management policy focused on strengthening its business structure and concentrating on fundamentals to sustain continuous growth. It intends to make relentless investments to provide users with convenient and safe services stably.

Meanwhile, over the past two years, Kakao has completed dividends totaling 49.2 billion KRW and share buybacks amounting to 422.4 billion KRW, equivalent to 1.4% of issued shares. In 2024, it plans to announce an enhanced mid- to long-term shareholder return policy.