Sales and Operating Profit climb to 42% as KRAFTON claims highest Operating Profit Margin among listed game companies in S. Korea for Q323
November 7, 2023 – KRAFTON Inc. (CEO CH Kim) announced its 3Q23 preliminary earnings on November 7.
KRAFTON recorded its 3Q23 sales at £279.8M GBP, Operating Profit at £117.6M GBP and Net Profit at £131.4M GBP in accordance with the Korean International Financial Reporting Standards (K-IFRS). Sales and OP both climbed 16% QoQ and 44% QoQ, respectively, which translates to 4% YoY and 31% YoY, respectively. KRAFTON posted its 3Q23 cumulative sales at £855.1M and OP at £375.2M GBP, claiming the highest OPM among the listed game companies in Korea.
This achievement in sales and OP is largely attributed to the stable revenue generated across all platforms by PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS IP. On PC/Console, PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS updated its classic maps Miramar and Erangel and introduced new weapon Dragunov, all of which offered new gameplay experiences for users in 3Q23. Engaging in direct communication with users and actively gathering feedback through the PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS Director Live Talk since August, the company has achieved sales of £82.8M GBP on PC/Console.
As for Mobile, sales picked up 26% QoQ and 9% YoY to £192.0M GBP driven by PUBG MOBILE’s Dragon Ball Super collaboration and the resumption of BATTLEGROUNDS MOBILE INDIA (BGMI) services. In India, hosting large-scale Esports competitions and providing localized content helped sales and traffic return to previous levels while BGMI has further solidified its position as the most popular game in the Indian market with a steady inflow of new users.
With its strategic direction of “Scale-Up the Creative” since early-2023, KRAFTON has been enhancing its publishing capabilities and focusing on new IP acquisition, thereby gaining a foothold to take another leap forward. This year, up until the third quarter, KRAFTON has made equity investments in a total of 13 global studios, focusing on strengthening publishing capabilities and acquiring new IPs. As such, the number of global studios in which KRAFTON has invested since going public has increased to 21.
KRAFTON’s self-developed new titles are set to connect with fans starting in 2024. Among these are, ‘Dark and Darker Mobile,’ an extraction RPG independently developed by Bluehole Studio, and ‘inZOI,’ a life-simulation game featuring realistic graphics. Furthermore, the company is poised to bolster its earnings with a lineup of forthcoming releases, including an extraction shooter genre game, ‘Project Black Budget,’ currently being developed by PUBG STUDIOS and scheduled for launch in 2H24.
Dongkeun Bae, CFO of KRAFTON, stated, “KRAFTON is growing steadily based on the ongoing potential of the PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS IP,” and added, “Moving forward, KRAFTON aims to become a company known for launching major new titles and highly anticipated games every year, by expanding our pipeline aggressively with our own game development and second-party publishing.”
| Earnings (3Q23) | Earnings (2Q23) | % chg (QoQ) | Earnings (3Q22) | % chg (YoY) | |
| Sales | £279.8 | £240.5 | 16.3% | £269.5 | 3.8% |
| OP | £117.6 | £81.7 | 44.0% | £89.8 | 30.9% |
▲Table: KRAFTON’s 3Q23 (preliminary) earnings on a consolidated basis (unit: 1 million GBP) Original figures in South Korean Won (KRW), converted to GBP using 6 November 2023 exchange rate for this press release.
About KRAFTON, Inc.
Headquartered in South Korea, KRAFTON, Inc. is dedicated to discovering and publishing captivating games that offer fun and unique experiences. Established in 2007, KRAFTON is home to globally renowned developers that include PUBG STUDIOS, Striking Distance Studios, Unknown Worlds, VECTOR NORTH, Neon Giant, KRAFTON Montréal Studio, Bluehole Studio, RisingWings, 5minlab, Dreamotion, ReLU Games and Flyway Games. Each studio strives to continuously take on new challenges and leverage innovative technologies. Their goal is to win over more fans by broadening KRAFTON’s platforms and services.
KRAFTON is responsible for premier entertainment properties, including PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS, PUBG MOBILE, The Callisto Protocol, NEW STATE MOBILE, Moonbreaker, Defense Derby and TERA. With a passionate and driven team across the globe, KRAFTON is a tech-forward company that possesses world-class capabilities and is set on expanding its business horizons to encompass multimedia entertainment and deep learning. For more information, visit www.krafton.com.
