Daum Kakao's 2014 net more than doubles

Daum Kakao Corp., the operator of South Korea's top mobile messenger, said Monday its 2014 net profit more than doubled from a year earlier, aided by robust sales from e-commerce platforms and mobile advertising.
   
Net profit amounted to 149.8 billion won (US$135.1 million) last year, up 126.7 percent from the previous year, the company said in a regulatory filing.
   
Daum Kakao's operating profit jumped 115.7 percent on-year to 176.4 billion won while its sales inched down 6 percent to 498.9 billion won, it added.
   
The rise in net profit mainly resulted from the merger between two South Korean leading IT ventures -- Daum Communications Corp. and Kakao Corp.
   
Daum Kakao, the operator of the country's top mobile messenger KakaoTalk, made its debut in October last year. The new merged entity is now the biggest listed firm on the country's secondary market KOSDAQ.
   
The company said that it will pay out a dividend of 173 won per common share, making the total amount of its 2014 dividend payout reach some 10 billion won.
   
Shares of Daum Kakao closed at 128,800 won on the KOSDAQ market, down 1.6 percent from the previous session. (Yonhap)