Kakao (KRX:035720) posted a sharp drop in second-quarter profit as one-off losses related to discontinued operations and subsidiary stake disposals overshadowed strong growth in revenue and operating profit.
Profit attributable to owners of the parent plunged 90% to 16.3 billion won in the quarter ended June 30 from 161.2 billion won a year earlier, according to the company's earnings release on Thursday.
Sales rose 3.5% to 2.098 trillion won from 2.028 trillion won, while operating income jumped 49% to 277 billion won from 185.9 billion won.
Kakao said net profit was weighed down by a 181 billion won loss from discontinued operations and an income tax expense related to the deconsolidation and disposal of stakes in subsidiaries.
Platform revenue grew on the back of strong performance across advertising, subscriptions, and platform businesses.
Talk Biz benefited from robust demand for business messaging and higher advertising spending following the introduction of feed-based ad products.
The company said business messaging revenue rose 20% year-over-year, while Talk display advertising revenue increased 28%.
Kakao Pay also posted record quarterly revenue and operating profit, driven by growth in financial services.
KakaoTalk's domestic monthly active users reached 49.6 million during the quarter, approaching the 50 million mark.
Meanwhile, content revenue was supported by stronger music performance, partly offset by weaker story revenue as softer user traffic weighed on Piccoma.
