Kakao Corp. posts third-quarter growth in revenue and operating profit, with Talk Biz and Mobility driving gains

[Financial News] Kakao Corp. posted growth in both revenue and operating profit in the third quarter of this year, driven by growth in its KakaoTalk advertising and commerce businesses. Despite weakness in its content business, the platform division maintained double-digit growth and led an improvement in results.
On the 5th, Kakao Corp. said its consolidated revenue for the third quarter of this year rose 6% year over year to 2.0867 trillion won, while operating profit increased 7% to 240.3 billion won. Its operating margin stood at 12%.
By business, platform division revenue rose 17% year over year to 1.235 trillion won. Of that, Talk Biz, KakaoTalk-based advertising and commerce, generated 632.9 billion won, up 13%.
Talk Biz advertising and subscription revenue rose 11% year over year to 391.5 billion won. Business messaging revenue increased 7% as advertiser demand continued despite the base effect of livelihood recovery consumer vouchers distributed in the third quarter last year. Talk display advertising revenue grew 35%, driven by increased advertiser demand and a wider range of products.
Third-quarter transaction value for Talk Biz commerce, including Gift Giving and Talk Deal, rose 13% year over year to 2.3 trillion won. With the Chuseok peak season coinciding with increased demand for self-purchases, Gift Giving recorded its highest-ever monthly transaction value in September.
In the third quarter, the number of self-purchasing customers and their transaction value rose 23% and 33%, respectively. Self-purchases also grew to account for around 30% of total commerce transaction value. Talk Store transaction value increased 8%, driven by diversified sales channels, including expanded collaborations with major brands, live commerce and influencer deals. As a result, Talk Biz commerce revenue rose 16% to 241.3 billion won.
Other platform revenue, which includes Kakao Mobility Corp. and Kakao Pay, rose 21% year over year to 602.1 billion won. Mobility added growth in new businesses to stable revenue from existing operations. Pay saw strong growth in both revenue and operating profit as its financial and payment businesses grew evenly. Its operating margin also remained in double digits for three consecutive quarters.
By contrast, content division revenue fell 6% year over year to 851.7 billion won. Music revenue fell 10% to 508.3 billion won, affected by fewer album releases from major artists and fewer large-scale concerts. Story revenue also fell 17%, to 200.6 billion won. Media revenue rose 49% to 142.8 billion won.
Third-quarter operating expenses rose 6% year over year to 1.8464 trillion won.
Kakao Corp. also plans to accelerate the expansion of its artificial intelligence (AI) services. It will strengthen its KakaoTalk-based AI services, centered on the AI assistant “Kanana Space,” which can be called up from anywhere in KakaoTalk.
Kakao Corp. plans to begin a pilot service for Kanana Space in December for people who sign up in advance, and to officially launch “MOAI” and “Kanvas” within the year. With active users of its existing AI services continuing to increase, Kakao Corp. is aiming to reach 10 million monthly active AI users this year.
“I believe the most important thing is to focus all our resources on quickly introducing AI services that exceed market expectations,” Kakao Corp. CEO Shina Chung said. “Going forward, we will expand our AI services with even greater speed and continue to meet shareholders’ expectations through tangible business results and an increase in corporate value.”
[email protected] Jang Min-kwon Reporter