Neowiz second-quarter net income rises despite operating profit fall

Neowiz said its second-quarter net income rose 44.1 percent from a year earlier to 18.4 billion won ($13 million) despite an operating profit fall.

Revenue declined 7.2 percent to 102 billion won ($72.1 million) from 110 billion won ($77.7 million), while operating profit fell 57.3 percent to 7.94 billion won ($5.61 million) from 18.6 billion won ($13.1 million).

Mobile game revenue rose 20.7 percent from a year earlier to 53.2 billion won ($37.6 million). Neowiz attributed the gain to an event marking BrownDust2's third anniversary, a collaboration involving Cats & Soup intellectual property and the release of Cats & Soup: Magic Recipe. PC and console game revenue fell 35.1 percent to 37.3 billion won ($26.4 million) as sales of Lies of P and Shape of Dreams entered a stable phase, the company said.

Operating expenses rose 3 percent from a year earlier to 94.1 billion won ($66.5 million). Neowiz linked the lower operating profit to higher variable costs from expanded mobile sales and increased marketing spending for new releases and events tied to its live game properties.

Profit before tax from continuing operations rose 29.6 percent to 22.3 billion won ($15.8 million) from 17.2 billion won ($12.2 million). Neowiz said the improvement in net income reflected valuation gains on financial assets, foreign-currency translation gains from higher exchange rates and increased financial income.