Ad Revenue 'Soars'... Danggeun Achieves First Annual Profit in 8 Years Since Establishment

Recorded Operating Profit of 17.3 Billion KRW Last Year
Danggeun Pay Creates Hyperlocal Financial Ecosystem
Focused Investment on Future Visions Including Global 'Carrot'

Danggeun (corporate name Danggeun Market) recorded an operating profit of 17.3 billion KRW last year, achieving an annual surplus for the first time since its founding in 2015.

Danggeun announced on the 29th that its sales last year reached 127.6 billion KRW, a 156% increase compared to 49.9 billion KRW the previous year. The annual operating profit was 17.3 billion KRW, marking its first surplus.

With a cumulative subscriber base of 36 million and nearly 19 million monthly active users (MAU), Danggeun has established itself as a "national app" and has recorded significant growth every year. The annual sales of 127.6 billion KRW in 2023 represent more than a tenfold increase in just three years since achieving 11.8 billion KRW in sales in 2020, when the regional community business was fully launched.

On a consolidated basis, Danggeun Market included overseas subsidiaries in North America, Japan, and the subsidiary costs of Danggeun Pay as operating expenses, resulting in an operating loss of 1.1 billion KRW. However, thanks to Danggeun Market's own profit generation, the scale of operating losses was reduced by more than 98% compared to the previous year. From a net profit perspective, it recorded a surplus of 2.4 billion KRW. The parent company, Danggeun Market, plans to continue investing in global market expansion and the usability enhancement of Danggeun Pay with the profits it has generated.

Danggeun's performance growth was driven by its advertising business. The number of advertisers and executed advertisements have been increasing significantly every year. Advertising revenue grew more than 2.5 times compared to the previous year. Over the past three years, the compound annual growth rate of advertising revenue has been 122%, repeatedly achieving more than double growth each year. Danggeun plans to focus on continuous advancement of its advertising platform and diversification of its products.

Based on this growth momentum, Danggeun plans to accelerate investment in new businesses. It aims to build new business models in vertical sectors such as recruitment, used cars, and real estate, and to explore the development of revenue models beyond the advertising platform and business diversification, including creating a hyperlocal financial ecosystem through Danggeun Pay, a region-based financial service.

Global market expansion will also be accelerated. Danggeun first entered the UK in November 2019 under the name "Karrot" and has since expanded its service coverage to over 560 regions across four countries including Canada, the United States, and Japan. In Canada, which serves as a foothold for entering the North American market, the monthly active users in February this year increased more than threefold compared to the previous year. Japan also showed remarkable growth, with monthly active users increasing more than 3.5 times compared to the previous year.

Danggeun CEO Hwang Doyeon said, “Despite the challenging environment such as the global economic downturn, we achieved the first annual surplus since our founding through significant sales growth and cost efficiency. Based on solid growth, we plan to focus on investment toward future vision rather than short-term profit maximization. We will enhance service competitiveness as a regional lifestyle community and strengthen the hyperlocal vision that embraces various connections within neighborhoods.”