Kakao Pay posted a net profit for the period of 49.6 billion won ($34.7 million) in the second quarter on a consolidated basis, a 251% jump from a year earlier, as sharp profit growth underscored a clear improvement in profitability alongside continued sales expansion.
According to the company's second-quarter earnings disclosure Tuesday, Kakao Pay recorded quarterly sales of 335.1 billion won, operating profit of 58.6 billion won and net profit for the period of 49.6 billion won. Sales rose 40.6% year on year, while operating profit jumped 528.2% — roughly 6.3 times — from 9.1 billion won to 58.6 billion won. Net profit for the period climbed 251.2% from 14.1 billion won to 49.6 billion won. Compared with the previous quarter, sales grew 11.6%, operating profit 81.7% and net profit 42.9%. The second-quarter operating profit margin came in at 17.5%.
Net profit attributable to owners of the parent stood at 40 billion won, excluding the non-controlling interest portion of 9.6 billion won.
By business segment, the Digital Finance division — covering loans, investment and insurance — led growth. Digital Finance sales reached 175.2 billion won, up 74.7% year on year, the fastest expansion among the three segments. Digital Payments sales rose 13.0% to 141.4 billion won, while the Platform segment, which includes advertising, card recommendations and telecommunications brokerage, grew 43.9% to 18.5 billion won.
Breaking down revenue by type, non-financial business sales accounted for 190 billion won and financial business sales for 145 billion won.
Transaction volume and user metrics both improved. Total payment volume, the company's key scale indicator, reached 54.17 trillion won, up 20.4% year on year. Revenue TPV — the portion of transactions that directly translates into sales — grew 18.6% to 15.67 trillion won.
User metrics also strengthened. Daily active users reached 7 million, up 9.4% from 6.4 million a year earlier, while average transactions per user climbed from 69 to 87. Average revenue per user rose 38.7% year on year to 13,979 won from 10,075 won, indicating that growth in transaction volume is translating into actual revenue.
Kakao Pay cited four key achievements for the quarter: expansion of external merchant partnerships and data-driven cross-usage growth in the online payments business; monthly offline payment users surpassing 6 million; broader rollout and refinement of "Kakao Pay Score"; and rapid growth at its insurance and investment subsidiaries.
"The results reflect the successful establishment of a profitability-focused business model, driven by the combined effect of our data-based personalized services, stronger user retention and improved operational efficiency at our subsidiaries," Kakao Pay Chief Executive Shin Won-geun said. "We will continue to solidify our position as a next-generation financial platform, leveraging our proprietary data and platform capabilities."
won@heraldcorp.com
