Seoul: NHN Corp., a South Korean information technology and game company, announced a significant drop in its second-quarter operating profit, citing increased operational costs as a primary factor. The company's operating profit for the April-June period was recorded at 21.9 billion won (US$15.7 million) on a consolidated basis, marking a 23 percent decline from the previous year's figure of 28.5 billion won.
According to Yonhap News Agency, despite the downturn in operating profit, NHN experienced a slight growth in sales, which rose by 0.9 percent to reach 604.9 billion won. Furthermore, the company's net profit saw a remarkable increase of 142.6 percent on-year, amounting to 1.2 billion won. The decline in operating profit was primarily attributed to a 2.1 percent increase in operational costs, totaling 583 billion won.
NHN's payment division reported a 7.8 percent on-year increase in sales, bringing in 309.4 billion won, spurred by robust growth in corporate-to-corporate transactions facilitated by its payment platforms. Meanwhile, the technology division achieved a 6.6 percent on-year growth in sales, reaching 104.5 billion won.
The games division also showed positive results, with sales reaching 114.9 billion won for the quarter, reflecting a 9 percent increase from the previous year. This growth was largely driven by a 12.9 percent rise in mobile game sales. Looking ahead, NHN has plans to expand its gaming portfolio with the release of four new games later this year and an additional four games next year.