SEOUL (ANN/THE KOREA HERALD) – South Korean technology leader Naver Corp announced Friday that its net profit for the first quarter shot up 1,171.9 per cent compared to the same period last year, driven by significant growth in its core businesses, including search platforms and e-commerce.
According to a regulatory filing, Naver’s net profit reached KRW555.8 billion (USD404 million) during the January-March quarter, a dramatic rise from KRW43.7 billion a year earlier.
The company’s operating profit saw a considerable increase of 32.9 per cent year-on-year to KRW439.3 billion, while sales rose by 10.8 per cent, totaling KRW2.52 trillion in the first quarter.
The earnings exceed market expectations. The average estimate of net profit by analysts stood at KRW291.4 billion, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency.
Naver said its major businesses delivered strong overall performance in the first quarter.
Its flagship search platform division saw its sales increase 6.3 per cent on-year to KRW905.4 billion, thanks to commercials.
Sales of its commerce division advanced 16.1 per cent to KRW703.4 billion, driven by the release of a new delivery solution and the growth of its social commerce platform, Kream.
Revenue from its fintech division also climbed 11.2 per cent to KRW353.9 billion on the expansion of Naver Pay, its mobile payment service.
The content division reported an 8.5 per cent increase in sales to KRW446.3 billion, as transactions on the global webtoon platform grew 9.1 per cent on-year to KRW458.7 billion in the first quarter.
In particular, Japanese yen transactions rose 24 per cent on the webtoon platform.
The cloud division saw its revenue jump 25.5 per cent to KRW117 billion as its generative artificial intelligence services, including its hyperscale AI HyperClova X, began to raise profits, according to the Korean company.
“Naver will work to strengthen its competitiveness in a swift manner by providing a differentiated experience based on our core technologies, such as AI, data and search, and creating long-term technological growth,” CEO Choi Soo-yeon said.
