Kakao Achieves Record Results... 2Q Operating Profit Up 36% Year-on-Year

Revenue Reaches 2.0985 Trillion Won, Up 9% Year-on-Year
Operating Profit Hits 277 Billion Won
Growth Driven by Platform and Advertising

Kakao achieved its highest-ever quarterly performance in the second quarter of this year.

According to a public disclosure on August 6, Kakao reported consolidated sales and operating profit for the second quarter of 2.0985 trillion won and 277 billion won, respectively. Compared to the same period last year, sales increased by 9% and operating profit rose by 36%. Both figures represent record quarterly highs for the company.

Kakao Pangyo Ajit, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

Last year, Kakao sold Kakao Healthcare to CHA Bio Group, and this year, the company transferred management rights of Kakao Games to LY Corporation (formerly Line Yahoo). As a result, the discontinued operating profit and loss of Kakao Games and Kakao Healthcare were reflected in last year’s second quarter results: sales were 1.9175 trillion won and operating profit reached 203.9 billion won. The year-on-year changes in sales and operating profit were calculated by reflecting discontinued operations from these two companies.

By business segment, second-quarter sales in the platform division reached 1.2303 trillion won, an increase of 17% from the same period a year ago. Sales for the Talk Biz segment rose 12% year-on-year to 643.2 billion won. Notably, Talk Biz advertising and subscription revenue grew 14% year-on-year to 399.9 billion won.

Commerce within Talk Biz, such as the Gift feature and Talk Deal, also maintained strong growth. Second-quarter sales for Talk Biz commerce increased by 10% from the previous year to 243.2 billion won. The aggregate transaction volume for the second quarter was 2.7 trillion won, representing a 9% year-on-year increase.

Other platform sales, including mobility and payment businesses, totaled 587 billion won, up 22% from a year earlier. In the content segment, second-quarter sales were 868.2 billion won, a 1% year-on-year increase.

The second-quarter operating margin improved by approximately 3 percentage points compared to the same period last year, reaching 13%. Operating expenses totaled 1.8214 trillion won, up 6% year-on-year.

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