Annual Revenue Up 5.6%, Operating Loss Reaches 137.3 Billion KRW
Sales Driven by Paid Content and Advertising
Japan Revenue Surges 26%, Surpassing Korea as Top Market
Webtoon Entertainment, which operates Naver Webtoon, continued its sales growth last year with revenue of 1.84 trillion KRW. However, operating losses widened compared to the previous year.
Webtoon Entertainment, a Nasdaq-listed company in the United States, announced on the 25th (local time) that its annual revenue for 2024 reached $1.35 billion (approximately 1.8402 trillion KRW based on the annual average exchange rate of 1,363.09 KRW/USD), marking a 5.1% increase from the previous year. However, last year's operating loss was $107 million (about 137.3 billion KRW), expanding from $36.36 million the previous year.
Looking at the quarterly performance, fourth-quarter revenue last year was $352.8 million (approximately 492.1 billion KRW based on the Q4 average exchange rate of 1,394.92 KRW/USD), a 5.6% increase compared to the same period last year. However, the fourth quarter also recorded an operating loss of $27.71 million (about 38.6 billion KRW), widening the deficit compared to $4.38 million in the same period last year.
When viewed on a Constant Currency basis, the sales growth is even greater. Considering the revenue proportion generated outside the U.S., Webtoon Entertainment specifies growth rates based on constant currency, which removes the effects of exchange rate fluctuations and the exclusion of certain businesses from consolidation. On a constant currency basis, Webtoon Entertainment’s annual revenue last year increased by 13% compared to the previous year, and fourth-quarter revenue grew by 10.4% year-over-year.
Webtoon Entertainment explained that revenue growth last year was driven by paid content and advertising. Last year, total paid content revenue was $1.083 billion, and advertising revenue was $166 million. Compared to the previous year, paid content revenue increased by 5.3%, and advertising revenue grew by 14.2%.
In particular, revenue in the Japan region grew significantly. Last year, Japan’s revenue reached $648.2 million (approximately 883.6 billion KRW), a 25.8% increase year-over-year on a constant currency basis. Webtoon Entertainment stated that Japan has established itself as the highest revenue-generating region, surpassing Korea. Webtoon Entertainment operates the webtoon service "Line Manga" in Japan through its subsidiary Line Digital Frontier.
Additionally, Korea’s IP business also showed growth compared to the previous year, and in other regions including North America, both paid content and advertising revenues showed double-digit growth compared to the previous year.
Quarterly results also showed revenue growth centered on paid content and advertising. In the fourth quarter of last year, Webtoon Entertainment’s paid content revenue was $270 million, up 6.7% year-over-year (10.9% on a constant currency basis). This growth was attributed to the high growth in the Japanese market and the strengthening of paid models in the Korean business.
Specifically, Japan showed growth of 18.9% year-over-year (constant currency basis) with increases in paid content, advertising, and IP business revenues. In terms of user numbers, the global webtoon app’s monthly active users (MAU) increased by 6.7% year-over-year, and the Line Manga app ranked first in revenue in the Japanese app market (excluding games) in the second half of last year. In Korea, the activation of AI recommendation models led to an increase in the number of weekly episodes read per user, along with double-digit growth in average revenue per paying user (ARPPU).
Advertising revenue in the fourth quarter of last year was $45.3 million, up 22.1% year-over-year (27.4% on a constant currency basis). In the IP business, Studio N’s webtoon-based drama "Jeongnyeon-i" entered the global top 10 on the OTT platform Disney Plus. Webtoon Entertainment plans to launch 20 animation projects in Japan this year.
Kim Jun-gu, CEO of Webtoon Entertainment and Naver Webtoon, said, "In 2024, all sectors including paid content, advertising, and IP business achieved solid results," adding, "This year, we will continue to grow by strengthening the global flywheel through platform innovation such as service improvements, revenue model enhancements, and strengthening content discovery."
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