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SEOUL, Aug. 4 (Yonhap) — South Korean internet portal giant Naver Corp. reported on Friday that its second-quarter net income surged more than 80 percent year-on-year, thanks to the strong performance of its commerce and content businesses.
Its net profit came to 286.7 billion won (US$220.7 million), up 80.9 percent from the same period a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.
Operating profit for the April-June period rose 10.9 percent year-on-year to 372.7 billion won, while sales increased 17.7 percent to 2.4 trillion won.
The earnings were higher than market forecasts. Analysts had estimated an average net profit of 272.7 billion won, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency.
The tech giant also credited its better-than-expected performance to company-wide cost-cutting measures, higher profitability of its Webtoon service, and Poshmark, a U.S. social commerce marketplace for fashion that it acquired early this year.
Revenue from Naver’s commerce business in the second quarter jumped 44 percent year-on-year to 632.9 billion won due to strong sales from Brandstore, Travel and Kream, the company said.
Content sales rose 40.1 percent to 420.4 billion won over the cited period, driven by increased global demand for its webtoons and Snow.
The company’s flagship search platform, which covers its ad business, saw its sales inch up 0.5 percent year-on-year to 910.4 billion won.
Sales from the fintech sector also expanded 14.9 percent year-on-year to 339.7 billion won, thanks to increased online shopping through Naver Pay, its mobile payment service, and the continued expansion of its loan service portfolio.
Revenue from its cloud business declined 0.4 percent year-on-year to 104.5 billion won.
Naver said its next-gen AI, HyperClova X, and chat-based AI service, Clova X, set to launch on Aug. 24, are expected to boost its bottom line in the second half.
The earnings report was released before the stock market opened.
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