Cheil Worldwide Reports Operating Profit of 320.7 Billion KRW Last Year, Up 4% Year-on-Year

Operating profit in Q4 reaches 82.5 billion KRW, up 8% year-on-year
BTL performance grows 19% driven by Paris Olympics

Cheil Worldwide announced on the 4th that its operating profit for last year was preliminarily estimated at 320.7 billion KRW, a 4% increase compared to the previous year.

Cheil Worldwide explained that operating profit grew by 4% due to a 7% increase in selling and administrative expenses caused by increased labor costs from investments in digital-focused personnel. During the same period, gross profit, calculated by subtracting cost of sales from revenue, rose 7% year-on-year to 1.7275 trillion KRW.

In the fourth quarter of last year, gross profit was 454.9 billion KRW, up 6% year-on-year, and operating profit was 82.5 billion KRW, an 8% increase compared to the previous year.

The simultaneous growth of headquarters and overseas operations is interpreted as the reason for the increase in both gross profit and operating profit. Domestically, growth was centered on retail and digital sectors, while overseas subsidiaries saw performance increases mainly in North America, Latin America, and the Middle East.

Last year, the business composition by service was 54% digital. Additionally, below-the-line (BTL) advertising accounted for 30%, and above-the-line (ATL) traditional advertising made up 16%. BTL performance grew 19% year-on-year, driven mainly by overseas projects such as the Paris Olympics and other Olympic projects last year.

Cheil Worldwide decided on a cash dividend of 1,230 KRW per share as a year-end dividend. The payout ratio is 60%, the dividend yield is 6.6%, and the total dividend amount is 124.6 billion KRW.

Cheil Worldwide plans to grow its annual gross profit by more than 5% this year and improve profitability. The company will strengthen its core businesses centered on digital platforms, retail, and data, and expand its business areas. It also plans to enhance industry expertise in sectors such as automotive, healthcare, travel, and food & beverage, and develop large advertisers.