Netmarble's Operating Profit Down 20.8%... "Driven by Increased Marketing and Personnel Costs"

Netmarble announced that despite the launch of new titles such as 'Soul: Enchant' in the second quarter of this year, operating profit declined due to rising expenses.

Netmarble G Tower. Netmarble.

On August 5, Netmarble disclosed that, on a consolidated basis, it recorded sales of 749.2 billion won and operating profit of 80.1 billion won in the second quarter of this year.

Sales increased by 4.4% year-on-year, while operating profit decreased by 20.8%. Net profit for the period amounted to 203.9 billion won, up 27.3% from the same period last year.

Netmarble explained that second-quarter sales growth was driven by updates to 'The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin' and the initial impact of its new MMORPG 'Soul: Enchant,' which launched on June 18.

By game, 'Marvel Contest of Champions' accounted for the highest share of sales at 9%, while 'The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin', 'Lucha Slot', 'Jackpot World', and 'Cash Frenzy' each contributed 7%.

As of the second quarter, sales by region were distributed as follows: North America 39%, Korea 22%, Europe 13%, Southeast Asia 10%, Japan 9%, and other regions 7%. By genre, RPGs made up 42%, casual games 35%, MMORPGs 17%, and other genres 6%, demonstrating Netmarble's continued diversification of its portfolio. With the performance of The Seven Deadly Sins IP reflected, the share of sales from Japan increased by two percentage points quarter-on-quarter, while the domestic sales share rose by one percentage point following the launch of Soul: Enchant.

Total operating expenses amounted to 669.1 billion won, rising 8.5% from a year ago and 11.8% from the previous quarter. Marketing expenses, impacted by new launches such as Soul: Enchant, grew by 35.5% year-on-year to 183.5 billion won, making it the second-largest expense following commission payments (235.6 billion won). Personnel costs also rose by 4.3% to 182.5 billion won, reflecting wage increases.

In the second half of the year, Netmarble aims to launch three new titles: 'Solo Leveling: Karma,' 'Shangri-La Frontier: Seven Supreme Species,' and 'Project Aegis.' The first two titles will be revealed at the Tokyo Game Show this September.

Bae Gyugyu, CEO of Netmarble, said, "This year, we are expanding services across various platforms and enhancing our business capabilities. In the second half, we will focus on upgrading live service to ensure performance stability and continue to drive growth momentum through the development of differentiated new titles."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.