Kakao Reports 4% Increase in Q2 Revenue to 2.0049 Trillion KRW... Platform Segment Grows 10%

Operating Profit Increased by 18.5% to 134 Billion KRW

Kakao announced on the 8th that its consolidated sales for the second quarter of this year amounted to 2.0049 trillion KRW, a 4% increase compared to the same period last year. Operating profit recorded 134 billion KRW, up 18.5%.

According to Kakao, sales in the platform division for the second quarter increased by 10% year-on-year to 955.3 billion KRW. The second-quarter sales of TalkBiz, which operates advertising and commerce businesses through KakaoTalk, were 513.9 billion KRW, a 7% increase compared to the same period last year. Among TalkBiz, advertising-type sales such as Bizboard and KakaoTalk Channel reached 307.3 billion KRW, up 9% from the previous year. Transaction-type sales, including Gift and Talk Store, recorded 206.6 billion KRW, a 5% increase.

Kakao identified that the monthly active users (MAU) of KakaoTalk in South Korea for the second quarter stood at 48.93 million, and evaluated that the business model implemented through KakaoTalk is becoming a core growth driver.

Sales in the platform other division, which includes mobility and pay services, increased by 18% year-on-year to 353.5 billion KRW, while portal business sales, including the portal site Daum, decreased by 2% to 87.9 billion KRW compared to the same period last year.

Alongside the platform, the content division, another pillar of Kakao’s business, recorded second-quarter sales of 1.0496 trillion KRW. Within the division, music sales amounted to 510.9 billion KRW, a 6% increase compared to the same period last year. New releases from 'IVE', 'RISE', and 'aespa' sold 1.7 million, 1.27 million, and 1.17 million copies respectively, driving growth in sales and profits.

Story sales declined by 7% to 215.9 billion KRW. This was influenced by increased strategic marketing expenses to respond to intensified competition in the Japanese webtoon market. Media sales rose 22% year-on-year to 89.6 billion KRW, explained by a base effect due to a concentrated production lineup in the second half of last year.

Kakao is strengthening its existing business structure based on KakaoTalk. It also plans to accelerate the development of new artificial intelligence (AI) services and build a foundation for sustainable growth in the mid to long term.