Naver's First-Quarter Profit Soars, Beating Consensus

By Kwanwoo Jun

Naver's first-quarter net profit jumped nearly 13-fold from a year earlier on solid growth in e-commerce and other core businesses, beating street views.

Net profit for the quarter ended in March was 555.80 billion Korean won ($406.3 million) compared with net profit of KRW43.70 billion in the same quarter a year earlier, the South Korean internet platform company said Friday.

That beat a FactSet-compiled consensus forecast of a KRW291.01 billion net profit.

Revenue during the quarter rose 11% on year to KRW2.526 trillion, while operating profit gained 33% on year to KRW439.30 billion.

The upbeat earnings come as the company is facing intensified competition from foreign e-commerce rivals, including Chinese platforms such as AliExpress and Temu expanding rapidly in South Korea.

Revenue grew across all major businesses, Naver said, led by its flagship e-commerce and search-platform businesses.

Revenue from e-commerce grew 16% from a year earlier in the first quarter and sales from search-platform advertising rose 6.2% on year during the quarter, according to the company.

Write to Kwanwoo Jun at kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 02, 2024 20:13 ET (00:13 GMT)

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