Kakao Targets ₩7.87 Trillion Sales, ₩491.5 Billion Operating Profit in 2024

Kakao announced remarkable performance, recording solid growth in 2024. Its annual revenue increased by 4.2% year-on-year to 7.8738 trillion won, and operating profit grew by 6.6% to 491.5 billion won. Notably, excluding one-time bad debt write-offs due to the Tmon/Wemakeprice incident, actual operating profit rose by 13.5% to 523 billion won, demonstrating the robustness of its core businesses. By business segment, the platform division showed significant strength. In Q4 2024, platform revenue recorded a high growth rate of 10% year-on-year, reaching 1.0491 trillion won. Talk Biz revenue increased by 5% to 562.7 billion won, and transaction-based revenue also grew by 4% to 241.6 billion won. In contrast, the content division struggled due to a gap in its IP lineup. Its Q4 revenue decreased by 13% to 910.1 billion won, with both the Music (470.2 billion won, 6% ↓) and Story (203 billion won, 5% ↓) segments showing declines. To overcome this situation, Kakao is pushing its artificial intelligence (AI) strategy to the forefront. While strengthening cooperation with OpenAI, Kakao plans to launch its own AI service, 'Kanana', after user CBT in the first half of the year. Furthermore, 'AI Mate' within KakaoTalk is also set for official release in the first half, raising high expectations for the combination of its core platform and AI technology. Industry experts predict that the strategy of integrating AI into the powerful KakaoTalk platform will be a crucial turning point for performance recovery, and CEO Chung Shin-a presented her future vision, stating, "We will actively pursue growth focused on the core of KakaoTalk and AI." Meanwhile, to address uncertainties in the content division, Kakao plans to secure long-term profitability through improved financial soundness and a 'select and focus' strategy.