Naver, South Korea’s largest search engine, on Thursday said its operating profits rose 38 percent in the second quarter, driven by its strong overseas performance.
The company posted 191.1 billion won ($186 million) in business profits to record a 38 percent rise from the 189.1 billion won a year ago. Sales were at 697.8 billion won, representing a 22 percent increase compared to the same period in 2013.
“The growth in sales was driven by a solid performance from overseas businesses including Line,” the company said in a statement. Sales from Line, a popular smartphone messaging app in Asia, reached 183.2 billion won, up 56 percent from the previous year.
“The ratio of sales from overseas markets has steadily risen in recent years and reached 30 percent for the first time. We will push ahead with more diverse services to become a global company,” said Naver’s chief executive Kim Sang-hun.
The company’s overseas sales in the second quarter grew 59 percent to 216.5 billion won on-year while domestic sales rose 10.6 percent to 481.3 billion won during the same period.
In the second half of this year, however, Naver may fall into a net loss under growing marketing expenses. “Line may run deficits as we are planning on aggressive global marketing later this year,” said the firm’s chief financial officer Hwang In-joon.
By Shin Ji-hye (
shinjh@heraldcorp.com)
