Netmarble (251270.KS) reported consolidated revenue of 749.2 billion won and operating profit of 80.1 billion won for the second quarter of this year, the company said on the 5th. Revenue rose 4.4% from a year earlier, while operating profit fell 20.8%.
Over the same period, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) came to 112 billion won, down 14.6% year-on-year, while net profit rose 27.3% to 203.9 billion won.
A Netmarble official explained the decline in operating profit, saying, "The stabilization of revenue from existing titles at lower levels, along with increased marketing costs from the launch of new titles such as StoneAge: The Idle Game, Game of Thrones: Kingsroad, and The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin, had an impact." Marketing costs in the second quarter rose 35.5% from a year earlier to 183.5 billion won.
Cumulative first-half results this year included revenue of 1.4009 trillion won, operating profit of 133.2 billion won, and net profit of 414.8 billion won. Compared with the same period last year, revenue rose 4.4% and net profit increased 72.5%, while operating profit fell 11.7%.
Revenue growth in the second quarter was driven by overseas markets. Second-quarter overseas revenue reached 580.8 billion won, accounting for 78% of total revenue. This represents a 13.4% increase from the previous quarter and a 22.6% increase from a year earlier.
By region, North America accounted for the largest share at 39%, followed by Korea (22%), Europe (13%), Southeast Asia (10%), Japan (9%), and others (7%). By genre, role-playing games (RPG) took the largest share at 42%, followed by casual games (35%), massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG) (17%), and others (6%).
Netmarble also said the second-quarter revenue gains were driven by the performance of updates to The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin and the early success of Soul: Enchant, a new MMORPG launched on June 18.
Kim Byung-gyu, chief executive of Netmarble, said, "This year we are strengthening our business capabilities by expanding services across various platforms." He added, "In the second half, we will work to improve earnings stability through advanced live services and to sustain growth momentum by developing differentiated new titles."
Meanwhile, Netmarble plans to unveil three new titles in the second half, including Solo Leveling: Karma, Shangri-La Frontier: The Seven Strongest Species, and Project Aegis. Of these, the first two titles will be revealed at the Tokyo Game Show in September, along with Pearl in Blue, a subculture collectible RPG being developed for release next year.
