In This Article:
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Q4 Consolidated Revenue: CNY 1.96 trillion, down 2% YoY, up 2% QoQ.
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Annual Revenue 2024: CNY 7.87 trillion, up 4% YoY.
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Platform Revenue Q4: CNY 1.05 trillion, up 10% YoY, 11% QoQ.
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Talk Biz Revenue Q4: CNY 562.7 billion, up 5% YoY, 11% QoQ.
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Q4 Advertising Revenue: CNY 321.2 billion, up 5% YoY, 10% QoQ.
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Commerce GMV Q4: CNY 2.7 trillion, up 3% YoY, 8% QoQ.
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Annual Commerce GMV 2024: CNY 10.1 trillion, up 5% YoY.
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Portal Revenue Q4: CNY 83.2 billion, down 6% YoY, up 9% QoQ.
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Content Revenue Q4: CNY 910.1 billion, down 13% YoY, 7% QoQ.
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Operating Profit Q4: CNY 106.7 billion, OP margin 5.4%.
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Adjusted Operating Profit Q4: CNY 138.2 billion, OP margin 7.1%.
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Annual Operating Profit 2024: CNY 491.5 billion, up 6.6% YoY, OP margin 6.2%.
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Net Loss Q4: CNY 276.9 billion.
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Annual Net Loss 2024: CNY 43.6 billion.
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CapEx Q4: CNY 100.7 billion.
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Annual CapEx 2024: CNY 499.4 billion.
Release Date: February 13, 2025
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
Positive Points
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Kakao Corp (XKRX:035720) plans to introduce new AI-powered features and services to enhance user engagement and create new business opportunities.
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The company is collaborating with OpenAI to integrate advanced AI models, aiming to improve user experiences across its platform.
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Kakao's business messaging service posted an 18% year-over-year revenue growth, indicating strong demand and increasing advertiser interest.
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The company is focusing on expanding its commerce offerings, with plans to enhance personalized shopping experiences using AI.
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Kakao Corp's mobility business showed robust growth, with improvements in taxi services and other mobility offerings contributing to increased revenue.
Negative Points
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Kakao Corp's growth has been slowing due to structural limitations in its messaging platform, impacting user engagement and new business opportunities.
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The company reported a decline in display ad revenue due to delayed economic recovery, highlighting challenges in the advertising sector.
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Content revenue decreased by 13% year-over-year, with specific declines in the story and media businesses, indicating challenges in maintaining content profitability.
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Kakao Corp faced a net loss in Q4 2024, partly due to goodwill impairments in its content business, affecting overall financial performance.
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The company anticipates a challenging first quarter in 2025, with expected revenue deterioration due to slow seasonality and increased fixed costs.
Q & A Highlights
Q: What is Kakao's growth strategy for its core businesses, particularly in advertising and commerce? A: Shina Chung, CEO, explained that the advertising market in Korea is facing challenges due to conservative GDP growth and economic confidence. Despite this, Kakao aims for double-digit growth in business messaging and plans to revamp Kakao Talk to increase traffic and business opportunities. For commerce, Kakao plans to optimize services to respond to changing consumer spending patterns, aiming for revenue and GMV growth similar to last year.