NAVER Reports Record High Revenue and Profit in Q2 2023
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NAVER announced its financial results for the second quarter of 2023, reporting a revenue of KRW 2.4 trillion, an adjusted EBITDA of KRW 515.1 billion, and an operating profit of KRW 372.7 billion.
For the second quarter, the consolidated operating revenue reached KRW 2.4079 trillion, an increase of 17.7% YoY and 5.6% QoQ. The adjusted EBITDA recorded KRW 515.1 billion, increasing 19.1% YoY and 5.5% QoQ, driven by Webtoon returning to EBITDA positive, and further expansion of Poshmark’s profitability. The consolidated operating profit achieved a record high of KRW 372.7 billion, up 10.9% YoY and 12.8% QoQ.
By business segment, NAVER’s operating revenue in Q2 from Search Platform was KRW 910.4 billion; Commerce, KRW 632.9 billion; Fintech, KRW 339.7 billion; Contents, KRW 420.4 billion; and Cloud, KRW 104.5 billion.
Search Platform revenue rose 0.5% YoY and 6.9% QoQ to KRW 910.4 billion. In contrast to the subdued performance of global competition amid challenging macroeconomic environment, search ads continued to grow 4.3% YoY as ad efficiency improved due to product enhancements. Place ads revenue also grew 92% YoY.
Commerce revenue grew 44.0% YoY and 4.5% QoQ to KRW 632.9 billion. NAVER’s Commerce GMV for 2Q totaled KRW 11.9 trillion, increasing 14.8% YoY.
Fintech recorded a revenue of KRW 339.7 billion, an increase of 14.9% YoY and 6.7% QoQ. NAVER Pay’s total payment volume achieved KRW 14.6 trillion in 2Q, up 21.2% YoY and 9.2% QoQ. Notably, non-captive payment volume grew 41% YoY, reaching KRW 6.3 trillion, and offline payment volume also doubled YoY to KRW 1.4 trillion, following integration with Samsung Pay. This demonstrates NAVER Pay’s continued expansion of its ecosystem.
Contents revenue rose 40.1% YoY and 2.2% QoQ to KRW 420.4 billion. Webtoon’s global GMV recorded KRW 444.8 billion, with a growth of 8.6% YoY and 5.0% QoQ. In Japan, the expansion of original series led to a 20% YoY increase in paying users, while the United States also showed strong growth, with ARPPU (Average Revenue Per Paid User) expanding by over 20% YoY.
Cloud and Future R&D revenue decreased by 0.4% YoY but showed a 12.1% growth QoQ, with a total of KRW 104.5 billion. B2B revenue increased by 8.2% YoY and 8.7% QoQ, driven by growth in the public sector sales. NAVER plans to unveil the next-generation hyperscale AI ‘HyperCLOVA X’ on the 24th, and further enhance the conversational AI service ‘CLOVA X’ and cloud-based B2B products.
NAVER’s CEO Choi Soo-Yeon stated, “All major business segments experienced balanced growth in the second quarter. Leveraging NAVER’s accumulated AI technology and platform competitiveness, we will sustain growth by providing a unique generative AI experience. NAVER stands as a globally rare example of integrated platform that covers the entire consumer journey, from exploration and search to purchase and payment. With our distinct approach of utilizing the AI technology, developed through an investment of over a trillion KRW the past few years, NAVER aims to bolster the growth of each business segment and will ultimately strive to generate greater profits for our business partners.”
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