Kakao Pay Achieves Profit for Two Consecutive Quarters: 9.3 Billion Won Operating Profit, 238.3 Billion Won Revenue

Transaction Volume in Q2 Up 10% Year-on-Year

Kakao Pay has achieved a profit for two consecutive quarters.

On August 5, Kakao Pay announced that it recorded a consolidated operating profit of 9.3 billion won in the second quarter, marking a profit for two consecutive quarters. The transaction volume for the second quarter was 45 trillion won, and consolidated revenue was 238.3 billion won. These figures represent increases of 10% and 28.5%, respectively, compared to the same period last year.

Kakao Pay explained that its financial and platform services drove the overall revenue growth. Revenue from financial services reached 100.3 billion won, an 82% increase year-on-year, surpassing 100 billion won for the first time. The proportion of financial services in total revenue exceeded 40%. Investment services, such as stocks, and insurance services grew by 148% and 88%, respectively.

Platform service revenue grew by 45% year-on-year, driven by strong performance in advertising and card recommendation services.

Consolidated operating expenses increased by 18.8% year-on-year to 229 billion won, due to the rise in revenue.

The consolidated operating profit of 9.3 billion won was a 111.5% increase compared to the previous quarter. After turning a profit in the first quarter, the company strengthened its profit-generating capacity. Net profit for the period was 14.1 billion won, and EBITDA was 17.4 billion won.

Kakao Pay cited the strong performance of its financial and platform businesses as the main achievements of the second quarter. In the financial sector, the growth of investment services was particularly notable. Its subsidiary, Kakao Pay Securities, expanded its scale by increasing total entrusted assets and stock balances by 89% and 131%, respectively, compared to the same period last year. Quarterly stock transaction volume doubled over the same period to 23.5 trillion won. Operating profit reached 5.2 billion won, marking a profit for three consecutive quarters.

The insurance consultation referral business also grew. The size of the consultation database increased about sevenfold year-on-year, and revenue rose by 88%. Kakao Pay plans to expand the user base of its insurance consultation referral services beyond users connected to insurance MyData, to include all 20 million Kakao Pay MyData subscribers. The company also aims to further advance its business model to enhance operational efficiency.

In the platform business, data-driven advertising services improved advertising efficiency, resulting in a 66% year-on-year increase in revenue. Card brokerage also saw the number of issuances rise 2.6 times over the same period, thanks to data-based personalized recommendations. The cumulative number of 'Kakao Pay Travelogue Check Cards' issued reached 200,000.

The number of transactions per user per quarter (ATPU) was 69, a 37% increase year-on-year. Revenue per user (ARPU) was 10,075 won, a 36% increase year-on-year, surpassing 10,000 won for the first time.

Shin Wonkeun, CEO of Kakao Pay, said, "We are consistently pursuing three key strategies: expanding the value chain, commercializing data-driven services, and expanding into new business areas by leveraging traffic. Through these strategies, we aim to achieve both growth and profitability, meeting market expectations."