First Half Sales Grow 60%... Net Income Declines
Song Chi-hyung, chairman and chairman of the board of Dunamu, which operates the virtual asset exchange 'Upbit,' received 4.7 billion KRW in compensation for the first half of 2024.
According to Dunamu's '2024 First Half Business Report' on the 14th, Chairman Song received approximately 4.749 billion KRW in compensation. Of this, 1.5 billion KRW was salary and 3.3 billion KRW was bonuses.
Dunamu explained the basis for calculating the compensation as follows: "As chairman of the board, he oversaw major business decisions of the company, led the discovery of future growth engines based on business expertise, and demonstrated leadership to achieve the company's management goals. He also contributed to laying the foundation for sustainable management through activities enhancing corporate value such as environmental, social, and governance (ESG) management activities, thereby contributing to the long-term growth of the company's value."
With Chairman Song's compensation being highly calculated, the average compensation per registered director also rose to 2.1 billion KRW. Vice Chairman Kim Hyung-nyeon received 3.2 billion KRW, Chief Operating Officer (COO) Jeong Min-seok received 1.3 billion KRW, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Lee Seok-woo received 1.3 billion KRW, and Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) Lim Ji-hoon received 900 million KRW in compensation.
Dunamu recorded sales (operating revenue) of 788.2 billion KRW on a consolidated basis in the first half of this year, an increase of 60.4% compared to the same period last year (491.5 billion KRW). Operating profit during the same period increased to 494.7 billion KRW from 298.5 billion KRW the previous year, but net profit decreased to 398.5 billion KRW from 427.2 billion KRW in the previous half-year.
Despite the significant increase in operating profit, the decrease in net profit is believed to be mainly due to a reduction in other non-operating income and an increase in equity method losses. Other non-operating income shrank to 19.2 billion KRW in this half-year, less than one-tenth of the previous half-year (268.2 billion KRW). This is because virtual asset gains, which make up most of other non-operating income, decreased from 263 billion KRW to 17 billion KRW. The scale of equity method losses in the first half also increased by 4.6 billion KRW to 11.8 billion KRW compared to 7.2 billion KRW in the previous half-year.
Looking at quarterly figures, consolidated sales in the second quarter were 257 billion KRW, a 52% decrease compared to the first quarter (531.1 billion KRW). Operating profit during this period was 159 billion KRW, down 53% from the first quarter (335.6 billion KRW), and net profit recorded 131.1 billion KRW.
Dunamu explained, "The decline in performance compared to the previous quarter was due to the major momentum that drove price increases in the first quarter, such as the approval of overseas spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for major virtual assets, becoming somewhat subdued in the second quarter, leading to an overall decrease in trading volume."
Founded in 2012, Dunamu operates not only Upbit but also Securities Plus and Securities Plus Unlisted.
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